A report on Iron Age

The Warrior of Hirschlanden (German: Krieger von Hirschlanden), a statue of a nude ithyphallic warrior made of sandstone, the oldest known Iron Age life-size anthropomorphic statue north of the Alps
Europe in the year 700 BC, during the Iron Age
Maiden Castle, Dorset, England. More than 2,000 Iron Age hillforts are known in Britain.
Silla chest and neck armour from the National Museum of Korea in Seoul (3rd century CE)
Lingling-o earrings from Luzon, Philippines
Iron Age finds in East and Southern Africa, corresponding to the early 1st millennium Bantu expansion
Broborg Knivsta, prehistoric castle

Final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity.

- Iron Age
The Warrior of Hirschlanden (German: Krieger von Hirschlanden), a statue of a nude ithyphallic warrior made of sandstone, the oldest known Iron Age life-size anthropomorphic statue north of the Alps

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One of the Alaca Höyük bronze standards from a pre-Hittite tomb dating to the third millennium BC, from the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara

Bronze Age

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Historic period, approximately 3300 BC to 1200 BC, that was characterized by the use of bronze, in some areas writing, and other early features of urban civilization.

Historic period, approximately 3300 BC to 1200 BC, that was characterized by the use of bronze, in some areas writing, and other early features of urban civilization.

One of the Alaca Höyük bronze standards from a pre-Hittite tomb dating to the third millennium BC, from the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara
Diffusion of metallurgy in Europe and Asia Minor—the darkest areas are the oldest.
Hittite bronze tablet from Çorum-Boğazköy dating from 1235 BC, Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara
Bronze mirror with a female human figure at the base, Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt (1540–1296 BC)
Sphinx-lion of Thutmose III 1479–1425 BC
Late 3rd Millennium BC silver cup from Marvdasht, Fars, with linear-Elamite inscription.
Master of Animals in chlorite, Jiroft culture, c. 2500 BC, Bronze Age I, National Museum of Iran
Chalcolithic copper mine in Timna Valley, Negev Desert, Israel
Dong Son, Bronze Drum
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A Shang dynasty two-handled bronze gefuding gui (1600–1046 BC)
Spring and Autumn period pu bronze vessel with interlaced dragon design
Dancing girl of Mohenjo-daro, c. 2500 BC (replica).
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Nebra sky disc, Germany, 1800-1600 BC
Urnfield culture cuirasses, France, 9th century BC.
Nuragic figurine, Sardinia, c. 1000 BC
Treasure of Vilena, Spain, 1000 BC.
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Bronze artifacts from Daegok-ri, Hwasun, Korea
2nd century BC Yayoi dōtaku bronze bell.
2nd-century BC Yayoi bronze spearhead

The term Neo-Syria is used to designate the early Iron Age.

Trundholm sun chariot, Nordic Bronze Age

Three-age system

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Trundholm sun chariot, Nordic Bronze Age
Jōmon pottery, Japanese Stone Age
Iron Age house keys Cave of Letters, Nahal Hever Canyon, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Hesiod inspired by the Muse, Gustave Moreau, 1891
Page 1 Chapter 1 of De Rerum Natura, 1675, dedicating the poem to Alma Venus
Michele Mercati, Commemorative Medal.
Thomsen explaining the Three-age System to visitors at the Museum of Northern Antiquities, then at the Christiansborg Palace, in Copenhagen, 1846. Drawing by Magnus Petersen, Thomsen's illustrator.
Reconstructed Iron Age home in Spain
Bone harpoon studded with microliths, a Mode 5 composite hunting implement.
Mas-d'Azil Grotto
Small Magdalenian carving representing a horse.
Tardenoisian Mode 5-point—Mesolithic or Epipaleolithic?
Haeckel's tree growing through the layers. In geology, the tripartite division did not stand the test of time.

The three-age system is the periodization of human pre-history (with some overlap into the historical periods in a few regions) into three time-periods: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age; although the concept may also refer to other tripartite divisions of historic time-periods.

Delineations on pieces of antler

Prehistory

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Period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins c. undefined 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems.

Period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins c. undefined 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems.

Delineations on pieces of antler
Massive stone pillars at Göbekli Tepe, in southeast Turkey, erected for ritual use by early Neolithic people 11,000 years ago
An early sketch imagining an adult and a juvenile from prehistoric times making a stone tool
A nineteenth century concept of early humans in a wilderness
Proposed map of early human migrations, according to mitochondrial population genetics with numbers that are millennia before the present (its accuracy is disputed)
Dugout canoe
Entrance to the Ġgantija phase temple complex of Ħaġar Qim, Malta, 3900 BCE
An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools - Neolithic stone artifacts are by definition polished and, except for specialty items, not chipped
The monumental building at Luni sul Mignone in Blera, Italy, 3500 BCE
Artist's impression of a Copper Age walled city, Los Millares, Iberia
Chalcolithic copper mine in Timna Valley, Negev Desert, Israel
An image of an ox-drawn plow is accompanied by script, Egypt, c. 1200 BCE

Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iron Age.

Neolithic wall painting from Tell Bouqras at the Deir ez-Zor Museum, Syria

Neolithic

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Final division of the Stone Age, with a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world.

Final division of the Stone Age, with a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world.

Neolithic wall painting from Tell Bouqras at the Deir ez-Zor Museum, Syria
Approximate centers of origin of agriculture in the Neolithic revolution and its spread in prehistory: the Fertile Crescent (11,000 BP), the Yangtze and Yellow River basins (9,000 BP) and the New Guinea Highlands (9,000–6,000 BP), Central Mexico (5,000–4,000 BP), Northern South America (5,000–4,000 BP), sub-Saharan Africa (5,000–4,000 BP, exact location unknown), eastern North America (4,000–3,000 BP).
An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools.
The Urfa Man c.9000 BC. Şanlıurfa Archaeology and Mosaic Museum.
Female and male figurines; 9000–7000 BC; gypsum with bitumen and stone inlays; from Tell Fekheriye (Al-Hasakah Governorate of Syria); University of Chicago Oriental Institute (USA)
'Ain Ghazal Statues, found at 'Ain Ghazal in Jordan, are considered to be one of the earliest large-scale representations of the human form dating back to around 7250 BC.
Algerian cave paintings depicting hunting scenes
Female figure from Tumba Madžari, North Macedonia
Map showing distribution of some of the main culture complexes in Neolithic Europe, c. undefined 3500 BC
Skara Brae, Scotland. Evidence of home furnishings (shelves)
Stone cup, Neolithic period, Manchurian Culture
Stone Axe, Neolithic period, Manchurian Culture
Big Stone Axe, Early Neolithic period, Manchurian Culture
Round stone hoe, Early Neolithic period, Manchurian Culture
Anthropomorphic Neolithic figurine
Anthropomorphic Neolithic ceramic figurine
Clay human figurine (Fertility goddess) Tappeh Sarab, Kermanshah ca. 7000-6100 BC, Neolithic period, National Museum of Iran
Reconstruction of Neolithic house in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
earthenware pig, Xinglongwa Culture, Early Neolithic period
A Cucuteni-Trypillian culture deer antler plough
Food and cooking items retrieved at a European Neolithic site: millstones, charred bread, grains and small apples, a clay cooking pot, and containers made of antlers and wood
Red cup, Earthenware, Early Neolithic period, Xinglongwa Cultur
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The Neolithic lasted (in that part of the world) until the transitional period of the Chalcolithic from about 6,500 years ago (4500 BC), marked by the development of metallurgy, leading up to the Bronze Age and Iron Age.

Ġgantija temples in Gozo, Malta, some of the world's oldest free-standing structures

Stone Age

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Broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface.

Broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface.

Ġgantija temples in Gozo, Malta, some of the world's oldest free-standing structures
Modern Awash River, Ethiopia, descendant of the Palaeo-Awash, source of the sediments in which the oldest Stone Age tools have been found
Obsidian projectile point
A variety of stone tools
Time series plot of temperature over the previous 5 million years
This is a Mode 1, or Oldowan, stone tool from the western Sahara.
An Acheulean tool, not worked over the entire surface
A Biface (trihedral) from Amar Merdeg at Zagros foothill, Ilam, National Museum of Iran
Gwion Gwion rock paintings found in the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Skara Brae, Scotland. Europe's most complete Neolithic village
Acheulean biface from Lake Langano area, Ethiopia.
Stone Knife, Early Neolithic period, Manchurian Culture
Petroglyph in Sydney, Australia.
Rock painting at Bhimbetka, India, a World Heritage Site
Poulnabrone dolmen in County Clare, Ireland
Monte Bubbonia dolmen (single-chambered tomb), Sicily
Imaginative depiction of the Stone Age, by Viktor Vasnetsov
Different views of one arrowhead from chert, 3300 to 2400 BC, Saint-Léons, France

The Stone Age is the first period in the three-age system frequently used in archaeology to divide the timeline of human technological prehistory into functional periods, with the next two being the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, respectively.

Chalcolithic copper mine in Timna Valley, Negev Desert, Israel

Chalcolithic

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Archaeological period that researchers now regard as part of the broader Neolithic.

Archaeological period that researchers now regard as part of the broader Neolithic.

Chalcolithic copper mine in Timna Valley, Negev Desert, Israel
Painting of a Copper Age walled settlement, Los Millares, Spain
Hongshan culture, Nine hole penannular ring, Chalcolithic period, Mongolia

The Copper Age features the use of copper, excluding bronze; moreover, stone continued to be used throughout both the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.

Overview map of the ancient Near East

Ancient Near East

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The home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran (Elam, Media, Parthia and Persia), Anatolia/Asia Minor and the Armenian Highlands (Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region, Armenia, northwestern Iran, southern Georgia, and western Azerbaijan), the Levant (modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan), Cyprus and the Arabian Peninsula.

The home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran (Elam, Media, Parthia and Persia), Anatolia/Asia Minor and the Armenian Highlands (Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region, Armenia, northwestern Iran, southern Georgia, and western Azerbaijan), the Levant (modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan), Cyprus and the Arabian Peninsula.

Overview map of the ancient Near East

The term covers the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the region, until either the conquest by the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC, that by the Macedonian Empire in the 4th century BC, or the Muslim conquests in the 7th century AD.

Molar volume vs. pressure for α iron at room temperature

Iron

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Chemical element with symbol Fe and atomic number 26.

Chemical element with symbol Fe and atomic number 26.

Molar volume vs. pressure for α iron at room temperature
Low-pressure phase diagram of pure iron
Magnetization curves of 9 ferromagnetic materials, showing saturation. 1.Sheet steel, 2.Silicon steel, 3.Cast steel, 4.Tungsten steel, 5.Magnet steel, 6.Cast iron, 7.Nickel, 8.Cobalt, 9.Magnetite
A polished and chemically etched piece of an iron meteorite, believed to be similar in composition to the Earth's metallic core, showing individual crystals of the iron-nickel alloy (Widmanstatten pattern)
Ochre path in Roussillon.
Banded iron formation in McKinley Park, Minnesota.
Pourbaix diagram of iron
Hydrated iron(III) chloride (ferric chloride)
Comparison of colors of solutions of ferrate (left) and permanganate (right)
Blue-green iron(II) sulfate heptahydrate
The two enantiomorphs of the ferrioxalate ion
Crystal structure of iron(II) oxalate dihydrate, showing iron (gray), oxygen (red), carbon (black), and hydrogen (white) atoms.
Blood-red positive thiocyanate test for iron(III)
Iron penta- carbonyl
Prussian blue
Iron harpoon head from Greenland. The iron edge covers a narwhal tusk harpoon using meteorite iron from the Cape York meteorite, one of the largest iron meteorites known.
The symbol for Mars has been used since antiquity to represent iron.
The iron pillar of Delhi is an example of the iron extraction and processing methodologies of early India.
Iron sickle from Ancient Greece.
Coalbrookdale by Night, 1801. Blast furnaces light the iron making town of Coalbrookdale.
"Gold gab ich für Eisen" – "I gave gold for iron". German-American brooch from WWI.
Iron powder
Iron furnace in Columbus, Ohio, 1922
17th century Chinese illustration of workers at a blast furnace, making wrought iron from pig iron
How iron was extracted in the 19th century
This heap of iron ore pellets will be used in steel production.
A pot of molten iron being used to make steel
Iron-carbon phase diagram
Photon mass attenuation coefficient for iron.
Structure of Heme b; in the protein additional ligand(s) would be attached to Fe.
A heme unit of human carboxyhemoglobin, showing the carbonyl ligand at the apical position, trans to the histidine residue

That event is considered the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age.

Bloomery smelting during the Middle Ages.

Ferrous metallurgy

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Metallurgy of iron and its alloys.

Metallurgy of iron and its alloys.

Bloomery smelting during the Middle Ages.
Willamette Meteorite, the sixth largest in the world, is an iron-nickel meteorite.
Iron meteorites consist overwhelmingly of nickel-iron alloys. The metal taken from these meteorites is known as meteoric iron and was one of the earliest sources of usable iron available to humans.
Mining areas of the ancient Middle East. Boxes colors: arsenic in brown, copper in red (the important mines of the Arabah, Timna and Feynan, are missing from the map), tin in grey, iron in reddish brown, gold in yellow, silver in white and lead in black. The yellow area stands for arsenic bronze, while grey area stands for tin bronze
The iron pillar of Delhi
Dagger and its scabbard, India, 17th–18th century. Blade: Damascus steel inlaid with gold; hilt: jade; scabbard: steel with engraved, chased and gilded decoration
Fining iron ore to make wrought iron from pig iron; the righthand illustration shows men working a blast furnace (Tiangong Kaiwu encyclopedia, 1637)
An illustration of furnace bellows operated by waterwheels, from the Nong Shu, by Wang Zhen, 1313 AD, during the Yuan Dynasty in China
Comparison of ancient Chinese and European iron and steel making processes.
Axe made of iron, dating from Swedish Iron Age, found at Gotland, Sweden
Iron Age finds in East and Southern Africa, corresponding to the early 1st millennium AD Bantu expansion
Ironmaking described in "The Popular Encyclopedia" vol.VII, published 1894
Schematic drawing of a puddling furnace
Schematic drawing of a Bessemer converter
Steel production (in million tons) by country in 2007

The use of wrought iron (worked iron) was known by the 1st millennium BC, and its spread defined the Iron Age.

Houmuwu ding, the heaviest Chinese ritual bronze ever found; 1300–1046 BCE; National Museum of China (Beijing). This ding's name is based on the inscription in the bronze interior wall, which reads Hòumǔwù, meaning 'Queen Mother Wu'

Bronze

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Alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such as arsenic, or silicon.

Alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such as arsenic, or silicon.

Houmuwu ding, the heaviest Chinese ritual bronze ever found; 1300–1046 BCE; National Museum of China (Beijing). This ding's name is based on the inscription in the bronze interior wall, which reads Hòumǔwù, meaning 'Queen Mother Wu'
A hoard of bronze socketed axes from the Bronze Age found in modern Germany. This was the top tool of the period, and also seems to have been used as a store of value.
Roman bronze nails with magical signs and inscriptions, 3rd-4th century AD.
Bronze bell with a visible crystallite structure.
Bronze weight with an inscribed imperial order, Qin dynasty
Industrial products of the Bunting Brass and Bronze Company, 1912
Chinese bells:Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng, Spring and Autumn period (476–221 BCE)
Singing bowls from the 16th to 18th centuries. Annealed bronze continues to be made in the Himalayas
The Dancing Girl, an Harappan artwork; 2400–1900 BCE; bronze; height: 10.8 cm; National Museum (New Delhi, India)
Ritual tripod cauldron (ding); circa 13th century BCE; bronze: height with handles: 25.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Ancient Egyptian statuette of a Kushite pharaoh; 713–664 BCE; bronze, precious-metal leaf; height: 7.6 cm, width: 3.2 cm, depth: 3.6 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Etruscan tripod base for a thymiaterion (incense burner); 475-450 BCE; bronze; height: 11 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Artemision Bronze; 460-450 BCE; bronze; height: 2.1 m; National Archaeological Museum (Athens)
Ancient Egyptian statuette of Isis and Horus; 305–30 BCE; solid cast of bronze; 4.8 × 10.3 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, Ohio, US)
Ancient Greek statue of Eros sleeping; 3rd–2nd century BCE; bronze; 41.9 × 35.6 × 85.2 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Gupta sculpture of Buddha offering protection; late 6th–early 7th century; copper alloy; height: 47 cm, width: 15.6 cm, diameter: 14.3 cm; from India (probably Bihar); Metropolitan Museum of Art
French or South Netherlandish Medieval caldron; 13th or 14th century; bronze and wrought iron; height: 37.5 cm, diameter: 34.3 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pair of French Rococo firedogs (chenets); circa 1750; gilt bronze; dimensions of the first: 52.7 x 48.3 x 26.7 cm, of the second: 45.1 x 49.1 x 24.8 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
French Neoclassical mantel clock (pendule de cheminée); 1757–1760; gilded and patinated bronze, oak veneered with ebony, white enamel with black numerals, and other materials; 48.3 × 69.9 × 27.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pair of French Chinoiserie firedogs; 1760–1770; gilt bronze; height (each): 41.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pair of Chinese vases with French Rococo mounts; the vases: early 18th century, the mounts: 1760–70; hard-paste porcelain with gilt-bronze mounts; 32.4 x 16.5 x 12.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
French Neoclassical mantel clock ("Pendule Uranie"); 1764–1770; case: patinated bronze and gilded bronze, Dial: white enamel, movement: brass and steel; 71.1 × 52.1 × 26.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pair of mounted vases (vase à monter); 1765–70; soft-paste porcelain and French gilt bronze; 28.9 x 17.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Winter; by Jean-Antoine Houdon; 1787; bronze; 143.5 x 39.1 x 50.5 cm, height of the pedestal: 86.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age starting from about 1300 BCE and reaching most of Eurasia by about 500 BCE, although bronze continued to be much more widely used than it is in modern times.