The Iron Age is an era in the primitive and early class history of mankind, characterized by the spread of iron metallurgy and the manufacture of iron tools.

The idea of ​​three ages, stone, bronze and iron, arose in the ancient world (Titus Lucretius Car).

Following bronze, a person masters a new metal - iron. The discovery of this metal of legend is attributed to the Asia Minor people of the Khalibs: from their name comes the Greek. Χάλυβας - "steel", "iron". Aristotle left a description of the Khalib method for producing iron: the Khalibs washed the river sand of their country several times, added some kind of refractory substance to it, and melted it in furnaces of a special design; the metal thus obtained had a silvery color and was stainless. As a raw material for iron smelting, magnetite sands were used, the reserves of which are found along the entire coast of the Black Sea - these magnetite sands consist of a mixture of small grains of magnetite, titanium-magnetite, ilmenite, and fragments of other rocks, so that the steel smelted by the Khalibs was alloyed, and, apparently had high quality. Such a peculiar method of obtaining iron not from ore suggests that the Khalibs, rather, discovered iron as a technological material, but not as a method for its widespread industrial production. Apparently, their discovery served as an impetus for the further development of iron metallurgy, including from ore mined in mines. Clement of Alexandria in his encyclopedic work Stromata (ch. 21) mentions that, according to Greek legend, iron was discovered on Mount Ida - that was the name of the mountain range near Troy, opposite the island of Lesbos

The fact that iron was actually discovered in the Hittites is confirmed both by the Greek name for the steel Χάλυβας, and by the fact that one of the first iron daggers was found in the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen (c. 1350 BC), clearly presented to him by the Hittites, and that already in the Book of Judges of Israel (c. 1200 BC) the use of complete iron chariots by the Philistines and Canaanites is described. Later, iron technology gradually spread to other countries.

Bronze tools are more durable than iron tools, and their production does not require such a high temperature as iron smelting. Therefore, most experts believe that the transition from bronze to iron was not associated with the advantages of tools made of iron, but, first of all, with the fact that at the end of the Bronze Age mass production of bronze tools began, which very quickly led to the depletion of tin for the manufacture of bronze, which is much rarer in nature than copper.

Iron ores were more readily available. Bog ores are found almost everywhere. The vast expanses of the forest zone in the Bronze Age lagged behind the southern regions in socio-economic development, but after the start of iron smelting from local ores, agricultural equipment began to improve there, an iron plowshare appeared suitable for plowing heavy forest soils, and the inhabitants of the forest zone switched to agriculture. As a result, many forests disappeared during the Iron Age. Western Europe. But even in regions where agriculture arose earlier, the introduction of iron contributed to the improvement of irrigation systems and increased productivity of fields.

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Many secrets exist in world history. But each study by archaeologists leaves no hope of learning something new in the facts that have been discovered. Exciting and extraordinary are those moments when you realize that a long time ago on the lands that we walk today, huge dinosaurs lived, crusaders fought, ancient people set up camp.

Introduction

World history laid down in its periodization two approaches that are in demand for determining the human race: 1) materials for the manufacture of tools and 2) technologies. Thanks to these approaches, the concepts of "stone", "iron", "bronze" ages arose. Each of these eras has become a separate step in the development of human history, the next cycle of evolution and the knowledge of human capabilities. It is noteworthy that in this process there was no stagnation, the so-called stagnation. From ancient times to the present day, there has been a regular acquisition of knowledge and obtaining the latest mining techniques. useful materials. In our article you will learn about the Iron Age and its general characteristics.

Methods for dating time periods in world history

Natural sciences have become an excellent tool in the hands of archaeologists to determine the date in time periods. Today, historians and researchers can make geological dating, they have the right to use the radiocarbon method, as well as dendrochronology. The active development of the most ancient man makes it possible to improve existing technologies.

Five thousand years ago, the so-called written period began in the history of mankind. Therefore, there were other prerequisites for determining the time frame. Historians suggest that the era of the isolation of ancient man from the world of fauna began two million years ago and lasted until the fall of the Western part of the Roman Empire, which happened in 476 AD.

This was the period of antiquity, then the Middle Ages lasted until the Renaissance. Period new history lasted until the end of the First World War. And we live in the era of modern times. Outstanding figures of the time set their reference points. For example, Herodotus was actively interested in the struggle of Asia with Europe. Later thinkers believed major event in the development of civilization the formation of the Roman Republic. However, a huge number of historians agreed on a single assumption - in the Iron Age, art and culture were not of great importance. After all, tools of labor and war came to the fore at that time.

Prerequisites for the emergence of the era of metal

Primitive history is divided into several important eras. For example, the Stone Age includes the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic. The time span from these periods is characterized by the development of man and the latest methods of stone processing.

At first, the hand ax was widely spread from the tools of labor. At the same time, man mastered fire. He made the first clothes from the skin of an animal. Ideas about religion appeared, and also at this time, ancient people began to equip their homes. During the time when man led a semi-nomadic lifestyle, he hunted large and strong animals, so he needed a weapon better than what he had.

The next most important stage in the development of stone processing methods falls at the turn of the millennium and the end of the Stone Age. Then there is agriculture and animal husbandry. And then there is also ceramic production. So in the early Iron Age, ancient man mastered copper and the methods of its processing. The beginning of the era of manufacturing metal products formed the front of activity in advance. The study of the characteristics and properties of metals gradually led to the fact that man discovered bronze and also spread it. The Stone Age, the Iron Age, including the Bronze Age, is all a single and harmonious process of a person's striving for civilization, which is based on mass movements of ethnic groups.

Researchers who studied the era of iron and its duration

Since the spread of metal is usually attributed to the primitive, as well as the early class history of mankind, therefore, the characteristic features of this period are interests in metallurgy and the manufacture of tools.

Even in antiquity, the idea of ​​the division of the ages on the basis of materials was formed, but it has been described more fully in our days. So the early Iron Age was studied, and scientists in various fields continue to study. For example, in Western Europe, the fundamental works about this era were written by Gernes, Tischler, Kostszewski and other scientists.

However, in Eastern Europe similar works and monographs, maps and textbooks were written by Gauthier, Spitsyn, Krakov, Smirnov, Artamonov and Tretyakov. They all think that feature culture of primitive times is the spread of iron. However, each state survived the Bronze and Iron Ages in its own way.

The first of them is considered a prerequisite for the emergence of the second. The Bronze Age was not so extensive within the framework of the development of mankind. As for the chronological framework of the Iron Age, this period took only two centuries from the ninth to the seventh century BC. During this period of time, many tribes of Asia and Europe received a powerful impetus in the promotion of metallurgy. Indeed, at that time, metal remained one of the most important materials for the manufacture of tools and household items, therefore, it influenced the development of modernity and is part of that time.

Cultural background of this era

Despite the fact that the period of the Iron Age did not imply the active development of culture, modernization nevertheless slightly affected this sphere of life of an ancient person. It should be noted:

• First, there were the first economic preconditions for the establishment of working relations and discord in the tribal way of life.
• Secondly, ancient history marked by the accumulation of certain values, increased inequality of property, as well as a mutually beneficial exchange of parties.
• Thirdly, the formation of classes in society and the state became widespread and strengthened.
• Fourthly, a huge part of the funds has passed into the private ownership of selected minorities, as well as slavery and progressive stratification of society.

Iron age. Russia

On the lands modern Russia iron was first found in Transcaucasia. Items made of this metal began to actively replace bronze ones. This is evidenced by the fact that iron was found everywhere, unlike tin or copper. Iron ore was located not only deep in the bowels of the earth, but also on its surface too.

Today, the ore found in the swamp is of no interest to the modern metal industry. However, in the ancient era, it meant a lot. Thus, the state, which had an income in the production of bronze, lost it in the production of metal. It is noteworthy that the countries that needed copper ore, with the advent of iron, rapidly overtook those kingdoms that were advanced in the Bronze Age.

It should be noted that excavations Scythian settlements priceless relics of the beginning of the Iron Age were found.

Who are the Scythians? Simply put, these are Iranian-speaking nomads who moved through the territories of modern Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Siberia and southern Russia. Once upon a time Herodotus wrote about them.

Scythian relics in Russia

It is worth noting that these nomads grew grain. They brought it for export to Greek cities. Grain production was based on slave labor. Very often the bones of the dead slaves accompanied the burial of the Scythians. The tradition of killing slaves at the burial of the master is known in many countries. The Scythians did not ignore these customs. On the sites of their former settlements, archaeologists still find agricultural tools, including sickles. It should be noted that few arable implements were found. Perhaps they were wooden and did not have iron elements.

It is known that the Scythians knew how to process ferrous metal. They produced flat arrows, which consisted of spikes, bushings and other elements. The Scythians began to make tools and other household items of better quality than before. This indicates global changes not only in the life of these nomads, but also in other steppe ethnic groups.

Iron age. Kazakhstan

This period in the Kazakh steppes fell on the eighth-seventh centuries BC. This era coincided with the movement of agricultural and pastoral tribes from Mongolia to mobile forms of economy. They were based on the system of seasonal regulation of pastures, as well as water sources. These forms of pastoral farming in the steppe are called "nomadic" and "semi-nomadic farms" in science. New forms of cattle breeding laid the foundation for the development of the economy of the tribes that lived in the special conditions of the steppe ecosystem. The basis of this form of economy was formed in the Begazy-Dandybaev era.

Tasmalan culture

Nomads lived on the endless steppes of Kazakhstan. On these lands, history is presented in the form of burial mounds and burial grounds, which are considered priceless monuments of the Iron Age. In this region, burials with paintings are often found, which, according to archaeologists, served as lighthouses or compasses in the steppe.

Historians are interested in the Tasmolin culture, which was named after the area of ​​Pavlodar. The very first excavations were carried out in this area, where the skeletons of a man and a horse were found in large and small barrows. Scientists-Kazakhstanologists consider these mounds the most common relics of the Stone Age, Iron Age.

Cultural features of Northern Kazakhstan

This region differs from other regions of Kazakhstan in that farmers, that is, local residents, have switched to either a settled or nomadic way of life. The culture described above is also valued in these regions. Archaeological researchers are still attracted by the monuments of the Iron Age. A lot of research was carried out on the burial mounds of Birlik, Bekteniz, etc. The right bank of the Yesil River preserved the fortifications of this era.

Another "iron" turn in the history of mankind

Historians say that the 19th century is the Iron Age. The thing is that it went down in history as an era of revolutions and changes. The architecture is changing radically. At this time, concrete is being intensively introduced into the construction business. Railway tracks are laid everywhere. In other words, the age railways. Rails are laid en masse, connecting cities and countries. So there were ways in France, Germany, Belgium and Russia.

In 1837, railway workers connected St. Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo. The length of these routes was 26.7 km. The railway began to actively expand in Russia in the 19th century. It was then that the domestic government thought about laying the tracks. Oddly enough, but the starting point for the development of this direction was the Department of Water Communications, which was created at the end of the 18th century by Paul the First.

The organization under the leadership of N. P. Rumyantsev acted more than successfully. The new institution was actively developed and expanded. On its base, created by Rumyantsev in 1809, the Military Institute of Communications was opened. After the victory in 1812, domestic engineers improved the communications system. It was this institute that produced modern and competent specialists for the construction and operation of domestic railways. Historians recorded the maximum point towards the end of the 19th century. This is the highest level of growth of the railway network. In just 10 years, the world length of the railway has increased by 245 thousand kilometers. Thus, the total length of the global network has become 617 thousand kilometers.

The first Russian train

As mentioned above, the flight "St. Petersburg - Tsarskoe Selo", which departed in 1837 on October 30 at 12:30, became the debut in the domestic railway. A lot of artificial structures were built on this route, including bridges. The largest of them ran through the Obvodny Canal, the length of which was more than 25 meters.

In general, a huge number of bridges built from metal structures were built in the New Iron Age. 7 locomotives and various crews were purchased abroad. And a year later, namely in 1838, a domestic steam locomotive called "Agile" was designed at the Tsarskoye Selo Institute of Communications.

For 5 years, more than 2 million passengers have been transported on this route. At the same time, this road brought a profit to the treasury of about 360 thousand rubles. The significance of this railway lay in the fact that this experience of construction and operation proved the idea of ​​​​the uninterrupted operation of this kind of transport in climatic conditions our country all year round.

The financial exploitation of the canvas also proved the profitability and expediency of a new method of delivering passengers and goods. It is worth noting that the first experience in the organization of railways in Russia gave a powerful impetus to the development and laying of railway tracks across the country.

Conclusion

If we return to the question of the Iron Age, we can trace its influence on the development of all mankind.

So, the era of metal is a part of history that stood out on the basis of data obtained by archaeologists, and is also characterized by the predominant predominance of objects made of iron, cast iron and steel at excavation sites.

It is generally accepted that this age replaced the Bronze Age. Its beginning in different areas and regions refers to different time periods. Markers of the beginning of the Iron Age are the regular production of weapons and tools, the spread of not only blacksmithing, but also ferrous metallurgy, as well as the widespread use of iron products.

The end of this era is attributed to the advent of the technological era, which is associated with the industrial revolution. And some historians extend it to the days of modern times.

The widespread introduction of this metal causes many opportunities for the production of a series of tools. This phenomenon is reflected in the improvement and spread of agriculture in forest areas or on soils that are difficult to cultivate.

Progress is observed in the construction business, as well as in crafts. The first tools appear in the form of saws, files and even articulated tools. Metal mining made it possible to manufacture wheeled vehicles. It was the latter that became the impetus for the expansion of trade.

Then coins appear. The processing of iron had a positive effect on military affairs. These facts in many regions contributed to the decomposition of the primitive system, as well as the formation of statehood.

Remember that the Iron Age is divided into early and late. This era is used in the study of primitive societies. On Chinese lands, progress in ferrous metallurgy proceeded separately. The production of bronze and casting among the Chinese was at the highest level. However, ore iron for them was known for a long time than in other countries. They were the first to produce cast iron, having noticed its fusibility. Masters produced many items not by forging, but by casting.

Successful centers for metal processing were in the territories former USSR Transcaucasia, Dnieper, Volga-Kama region. It is noteworthy that in pre-class societies increased social inequality. This was a general description of the Iron Age, which represents the most significant changes in the history of mankind associated with the development of iron.

The Age of Iron, or the Iron Age, is the third of the technological macro-epochs in the history of mankind (following stone age and the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages). The term "Early Iron Age" is used to denote the first stage of the Iron Age, approximately dated within the boundary II-I thousand. BC. - the middle of the 1st millennium AD (with certain chronological variations for different regions).

The use of the term "Iron Age" has a long history. For the first time, the idea of ​​the existence of the Iron Age in human history was clearly formulated at the end of the 8th - beginning of the 7th century. BC. ancient Greek poet Hesiod. According to his periodization of the historical process (see Introduction), the Iron Age modern to Hesiod turns out to be the last and worst stage of human history, in which people have “no respite night or day from work and grief” and “only the most cruel, grave misfortunes will remain for people in life ”(“ Works and Days ”, str. 175-201. Per. V.V. Veresaev). Ovid at the beginning of the 1st century. AD the ethical imperfection of the Iron Age is even more accentuated. The ancient Roman poet calls iron “the worst ore”, in the era of the domination of which “shame fled, and truth, and fidelity; and deceptions, deceit immediately appeared in their place; intrigues, violence came and the damned greed. The moral degeneration of people is punished flood, destroying everyone, except for Deucalion and Pyrrha, who revive humanity ("Metamorphoses", ch. I, str. 127-150, 163-415. Per. S.V. Shervinsky).

As we can see, in the assessment of the Iron Age by these ancient authors, the relationship between the cultural and technological aspect and the philosophical and ethical, in particular eschatological, was especially strong. The Iron Age was conceived as a kind of eve of the end of the world. This is quite natural, because the primary concepts of historical periodization finally took shape and were imprinted in written sources precisely at the beginning of the real Iron Age. Consequently, for the first authors who created the periodization of history, the cultural and technological epochs preceding the Iron Age (whether mythical, like the Age of Gold and the Age of Heroes, or real, like the Age of Copper) were the distant or recent past, while the Iron Age itself was modernity, shortcomings which are always seen more clearly and more tangibly. Therefore, the beginning of the Iron Age was perceived as a kind of crisis frontier in human history. In addition, iron, which defeated bronze primarily in weapons, inevitably became for the witnesses of this process a symbol of weapons, violence, and destruction. It is no coincidence that in the same Hesiod, Gaia-Earth, wanting to punish Uranus-Sky for his villainy, specially creates a “rock of gray iron”, from which he makes a punishing sickle (“Theogony”, str. 154-166. Per. V.V. Veresaev).

Thus, in ancient times, the term "Iron Age" was initially accompanied by an eschatological and tragic interpretation, and this ancient tradition was continued in the newest fiction(See, for example, A. Blok's poem "Retribution").

However, another compatriot of Ovid Lucretius in the first half of the 1st century. BC. substantiated in the poem "On the Nature of Things" a qualitatively new, exclusively production-technological characteristic of historical epochs, including the iron epoch. This idea eventually formed the basis of K.Yu. Thomsen (1836). Following this, the problem of the chronological framework of the Iron Age and its internal division arose, about which in the 19th century. there were long discussions. The final point in this dispute was put by the founder of the typological method O. Montelius. He noted that it is impossible to indicate a single absolute date for the change of the Bronze Age to the Iron Age throughout the entire territory of the ecumene; The beginning of the Iron Age for each region should be counted from the moment of the predominance of iron and alloys based on it (primarily steel) over other materials as raw materials for weapons and tools.

Montelius's position was confirmed in subsequent archaeological developments, which showed that at first iron was used as a rare raw material for jewelry (sometimes in combination with gold), then more and more often for the production of tools and weapons, gradually displacing copper and bronze into the background. Thus, in modern science an indicator of the onset of the Iron Age in the history of each particular region is the use of iron of an ore nature for the manufacture of the main forms of tools and weapons and the widespread use of iron metallurgy and blacksmithing.

The advent of the Iron Age is preceded by a long preparatory period related to the previous technological eras.

Even in the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages, people sometimes used iron to produce certain ornaments and the simplest tools. However, it was originally meteoric iron constantly coming from space. Mankind came to the production of iron from ores much later.

Products made from meteorite iron differ from products made from metallurgical iron (i.e., obtained from ores) primarily in that the former do not contain any slag inclusions, while such inclusions, at least in small proportions, are inevitable in the composition of metallurgical iron. are present as a result of the operation of recovering iron from ores. In addition, meteoric iron usually has a much higher nickel content, which accounts for the much greater hardness of such iron. However, this figure in itself is not absolute, and in modern science there is a serious and as yet unresolved problem of distinguishing between ancient meteorite and ore iron products. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that the nickel content in products made from meteorite raw materials could significantly decrease with time as a result of long-term corrosion. On the other hand, iron ores with a high nickel content are found on our planet.

Theoretically, it was possible to use terrestrial native iron - the so-called telluric (its appearance, mainly in basalt rocks, is explained by the interaction of iron oxides with organic minerals). However, it occurs only in the smallest grains and veinlets (with the exception of Greenland, where large accumulations are known), so that the practical use of telluric iron in antiquity was impossible.

Due to the high nickel content (from 5 to 20%, on average 8%), which increases brittleness, meteorite raw materials were processed mainly by cold forging - by analogy with stone. At the same time, some items made of meteoric iron were obtained as a result of hot forging.

The earliest iron products date back to the 6th millennium BC. and come from the burial of the Eneolithic culture of Samarra in northern Iraq. These are 14 small beads or balls, undoubtedly made of meteoric iron, as well as a tetrahedral tool that could be made of ore iron (this, of course, is an exceptional case).

A much larger number of meteoritic items (mainly for ritual and ceremonial purposes) date back to the Bronze Age.

The most famous items are ancient Egyptian beads of the late 4th - early 3rd millennium BC. from Hertz and Meduma (monuments of the pre-dynastic period); a dagger with a hilt overlaid with gold from the royal burial ground of Ur in Sumer (the tomb of Meskalamdug, dated to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC); mace from Troy I (2600-2400 BC); pins with golden heads, a pendant and some other items from the Aladzha-Kheyuk burial ground (2400-2100 BC); handle of a dagger produced in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. in Asia Minor and brought to the region of present-day Slovakia (Ganovce) - finally, things from the tomb of Tutankhamen (about 1375 BC), including: a dagger with an iron blade and a golden handle, an iron "eye of Horus" attached to a gold bracelet, an amulet in the form of a head stand and 16 thin magical-surgical iron instruments (lancets, incisors, chisels) inserted into a wooden base. On the territory of the former USSR, the first products made of meteoric iron appear first of all in the Southern Urals and in the Sayano-Altai Highlands. These are dated to the end of the 4th-3rd millennium BC. all-iron and bimetallic (bronze-iron) tools and ornaments made by metallurgists of the Pit (see Section II, Ch. 4) and Afanasiev cultures using cold and hot forging.

Obviously, the previous experience of using meteoric iron had no effect on the discovery of the effect of obtaining iron from ores. Meanwhile, it is the latest discovery, i.e. the actual birth of ferrous metallurgy, which took place as early as the Bronze Age, predetermined the change of technological eras, although it did not mean the immediate end of the Bronze Age and the transition to the Iron Age.

The oldest iron products dating back to 111-11 thousand BC:
1,3 - iron daggers with a hilt overlaid with gold (from the tomb of Meskalamdug in Ur and from the burial ground of Aladzha-Kheyuk in Asia Minor); 2, 4 - an iron adze with a copper grip for the handle and an iron chisel from the burial of the ancient pit culture (Southern Urals); 5, 6 - a dagger with an iron blade and a golden handle and iron blades inserted into a wooden base (Tutankhamun's tomb), 7 - a knife with a copper handle and an iron blade from a burial of the Catacomb culture (Russia, Belgorod region, Gerasimovka village); 8 - iron dagger handle (Slovakia)

Reconstruction of the cheese-making process in the early Iron Age:
initial and final phases of the cheese-making process; 2 - obtaining iron from ore in an open in an ancient semi-dugout workshop (Mshetsk Zhechrovice, Czech Republic); 3 - the main types of ancient
cheese-blowing ovens (in section)

There are two most important stages in the development of ore iron:
1st stage - discovery and improvement of a method for the recovery of iron from ores - the so-called cheese-making process.
2nd stage - the discovery of methods for the deliberate production of steel (carburation technology), and subsequently methods for its heat treatment in order to increase the hardness and strength of products.

The cheese-making process was carried out in special furnaces, where iron ore and charcoal were loaded, ignited by the supply of unheated, “raw” air (hence the name of the process). Coal itself could be obtained by pre-burning firewood, stacked in pyramids and covered with sod. First, coal was kindled, poured onto the bottom of a hearth or furnace, then layers of ore and the same coal were alternately loaded from above. As a result of burning coal, gas was released - carbon monoxide, which, passing through the thickness of the ore, reduced iron oxides. The cheese-making process, as a rule, did not ensure the achievement of the iron melting temperature (1528-1535 degrees Celsius), but reached a maximum of 1200 degrees, which was quite enough to recover iron from ores. It was a kind of "cooking" of iron.

Initially, the cheese-making process was carried out in pits lined with refractory clay or stones, then they began to build small ovens from stone or brick, sometimes using clay. Cheese kilns could operate on natural draft (especially if they were built on hillsides), but with the development of metallurgy, air was increasingly pumped with bellows through ceramic nozzles. This air entered the open pit from above, into the furnace through an opening in the lower part of the structure.

The reduced iron was concentrated in a paste-like form at the very bottom of the furnace, forming the so-called furnace furnace - an iron spongy mass with inclusions of unburned charcoal and an admixture of slag. In more advanced versions of cheese-blast furnaces, liquid slag was released from the hearth along a chute.

It was possible to make products from the furnace krytsa, which was removed from the furnace in a red-hot form, only after the preliminary removal of this slag impurity and elimination of porosity. Therefore, a direct continuation of the cheese-making process was the hot forging of a forge, which consisted in its periodic heating to a “bright white heat” (1400-1450 degrees) and in forging with a percussion tool. As a result, a denser mass of metal was obtained - the crown itself, from which, through further forging, semi-finished products and blanks of the corresponding blacksmith products were made. Even before being processed into a semi-finished product, kritz could become a unit of exchange, for which it was given a standard size, weight, and a form convenient for storage and transportation - flatbread, spindle-shaped, bipyramidal, striped. For the same purpose, the semi-finished products themselves could be shaped into tools and weapons.

The opening of the raw-blast process could have occurred as a result of the fact that, in the smelting of copper or lead from ores, in addition to copper ore and charcoal, iron-bearing rocks, primarily hematite, were loaded into the smelting furnace (as materials for removing "waste rock", primarily hematite. In this regard, already in As a result of the copper-smelting process, the first particles of iron could accidentally appear.It is possible that the corresponding furnaces could serve as a prototype for cheese-making.

Tools and products of the cheese-blowing and forging process:
1-9 - kritz 10-13 - semi-finished products in the form of an adze, axes and a knife; 14 - stone pestle for crushing ore; 15 - ceramic nozzle for supplying air to a cheese-blast furnace.

Findings of the earliest cheese kilns are associated with the territories of Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean. It is no coincidence that the most ancient products made of ore iron come from these regions.

This is a dagger blade from Tell Ashmar (2800 BC) and a dagger with a gold-lined hilt from the aforementioned tomb of the Alaja-Kheyuk burial ground (2400-2100 BC), the iron blade of which, for a long time considered meteorite, spectrographic analysis revealed an extremely low nickel content, which speaks in favor of its ore or mixed nature (combination of meteorite and ore raw materials).

On the territory of the former USSR, experiments on the development of bloomery iron proceeded most intensively in the Transcaucasus, in the North Caucasus and in the Northern Black Sea region.

Such early ore-based iron products as a knife from the first quarter of the 2nd millennium BC have come down to us. from the burial of the Catacomb culture near the village. Gerasimovka (Belgorod region), knife and awl of the third quarter of the 2nd millennium BC from the settlements of the Srubna culture Lyubovka (Kharkov region) and Tatshgyk (Nikolaev region). Opening of the cheese-making process - major step in the development of iron by mankind, because if meteoric iron is relatively rare, then iron ores are much more widespread than copper and tin. At the same time, iron ores often lie very shallow; in a number of areas, such as, for example, in the Forest of Dean region in the UK or near Krivoy Rog in Ukraine, iron ore could be mined from surface mining. Marsh iron ores are widespread, especially in the northern regions of the temperate zone, as well as soddy, meadow ores, etc.

The cheese blowing process was constantly developing: the volumes of furnaces increased, blasting was improved, etc. However, bloomery iron objects were not hard enough until a method for producing steel (an alloy of iron with carbon) was discovered and until the hardness and strength of steel products were increased through special heat treatment.

Initially, cementation was mastered - the intentional carburization of iron. As such, carburization, but accidental, unintentional, leading to the appearance of the so-called raw steel, could also occur earlier in the raw blowing process. But then this process became regulated and was carried out separately from the cheese-making process. At first, cementation was carried out by heating an iron product or workpiece for many hours to a “red heat” (750-900 degrees) in a wood or bone medium; then others began to use organic matter containing carbon. In this case, the depth of carburization was directly proportional to the temperature height and the duration of iron heating. With an increase in the carbon content, the hardness of the metal increased.

The method of hardening was also aimed at increasing hardness, which consisted in a sharp cooling of a steel thing preheated to a “red heat” in water, snow, olive oil or some other liquid.

Most likely, the hardening process, like carburization, was discovered by accident, and its physical essence, of course, remained a mystery to the ancient blacksmiths, which is why we often come across in written sources with very fantastic explanations for the reasons for the increase in the hardness of iron products during hardening. For example, the chronicle of the 9th century. BC. from the temple of Balgala in Asia Minor prescribes the following method of hardening: “It is necessary to heat the dagger until it shines like the sun rising in the desert, then cool it to the color of royal purple, immersing it in the body of a muscular slave ... The strength of the slave, passing into the dagger ... gives the metal hardness". The famous fragment from the Odyssey, probably created in the 8th century, belongs to the same ancient time. BC: here the burning out of the eye of a Cyclops with a “hot point” of an olive stake (“Odyssey”, canto IX, str. 375-395. Translated by V.A. Zhukovsky) is compared with a blacksmith’s immersion of a red-hot steel ax or ax into cold water , and it is not by chance that Homer uses the same verb to describe the process of hardening, which denoted medical and magical actions - obviously, the mechanisms of these phenomena were equally mysterious for the Greeks of that time

However, hardened steel had a certain brittleness. In this regard, the ancient masters, seeking to increase the strength of the steel product, improved heat treatment; in a number of cases, they used an operation opposite to hardening - thermal tempering, i.e. heating the product only to the lower threshold of "red heat", at which the structure is transformed, - to a temperature not exceeding 727 degrees. As a result, the hardness somewhat decreased, but the strength of the product increased.

In general, the development of carburizing and heat treatment operations is a long and very complex process. Most researchers believe that the area where these operations were first discovered (as well as the cheese-making process itself) and where their improvement was the fastest was Asia Minor, and above all, the area where the Hittites and related tribes lived, especially the mountains of Antitaurus, where already in the last quarter of the II millennium BC. made high quality steel products.

It was the improvement of the technology for processing bloomery iron and the production of steel that finally solved the problem of competition between iron and bronze. Along with this, in the replacement of the Bronze Age by the Iron Age, a significant role was played by the widespread and comparative ease of mining of iron ores.

In addition, for some areas of the ecumene, devoid of deposits of non-ferrous metal ores, an additional factor in the development of ferrous metallurgy was the fact that, for various reasons, the traditional connections of these regions with ore sources that provided non-ferrous metallurgy were broken.

THE COMING OF THE IRON AGE: THE CHRONOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY OF THE PROCESS, THE MAIN CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL CONSEQUENCES

The advanced region in the development of iron, where the Iron Age began in the last quarter of the 2nd millennium BC, was, as already mentioned, Asia Minor (a region of the Hittite kingdom), as well as the Eastern Mediterranean and Transcaucasia closely related to it.

It is no coincidence that the first indisputable written evidence of the production and use of bloomery iron and steel has come down to us precisely from texts that are somehow connected with the Hittites.

From the texts translated by the Hittites of their predecessors, the Hattians, it follows that the Hattians already knew iron well, which for them was more of a cult-ritual than everyday value. However, in these Hattian and ancient Hittite texts (“Anitta's text” of the 18th century BC), we can talk about products made of meteorite, and not ore iron.

The earliest undoubted written references to products made of ore ("bloom") iron appear in the Hittite cuneiform tablets of the 15th-13th centuries. BC, in particular in the message of the Hittite king to Pharaoh Ramses II (late XIV - early XIII century BC) with a message about sending the last ship loaded with iron. These are also cuneiform tablets from the kingdom of Mitanni, neighboring the Hittites, addressed to the Egyptians and therefore found their way into the famous "Amarna Archive" of the second half of the 15th - early 14th centuries. BC. - Correspondence of the pharaohs of the XVIII dynasty with the rulers of the countries of Western Asia. It is noteworthy that in the Hittite message to the Assyrian king of the XIII century. BC. the term "good iron", denoting steel, appears. All this is confirmed by the finds of a significant number of ore-based iron products at the sites of the New Hittite kingdom of the 14th-12th centuries. BC, as well as steel products in Palestine already in the XII century. BC. and in Cyprus in the 10th century. BC.

Under the influence of Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean at the end of II - beginning of I millennium BC. the Iron Age begins in Mesopotamia and Iran.

Thus, during the excavations of the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II in Khorsabad (the last quarter of the 8th century BC), about 160 tons of iron were found, mainly in the form of bipyramidal and spindle-shaped goods, probably offerings from subject territories.

Ferrous metallurgy spreads from Iran to India, where the era of iron is counted from the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. There is a sufficient amount of written evidence of the development of iron in India (both Indian proper, starting with the Rigveda, and later non-Indian, in particular ancient Greek).

Under the influence of Iran and India in the VIII century. BC. the Iron Age begins in Central Asia. To the north, in the steppes of Asia, the Iron Age begins no earlier than the 6th-5th centuries. BC.
In China, the development of ferrous metallurgy proceeded quite separately. Due to the highest level of local bronze foundry, which provided China with high-quality metal products, the era
iron begins here no earlier than the middle of the 1st millennium BC. At the same time, written sources (“Shijing” of the 8th century BC, comments on Confucius of the 6th century BC) record an earlier acquaintance of the Chinese with iron. And yet, for the first half of the 1st millennium BC. excavations revealed only a small number of objects made of ore iron of Chinese production proper. A significant increase in the quantity, assortment and range of local iron and steel products began here precisely from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. At the same time, already in the second half of the 1st millennium BC. Chinese craftsmen were the first in the world to purposefully produce cast iron (an iron-based alloy with a higher carbon content than steel) and, using its fusibility, produce most products not by forging, but by casting.

Researchers admit that cast iron, like iron, could initially be formed by chance during the smelting of copper from ores in a smelting furnace under certain conditions. And although this phenomenon probably took place not only in China, only this ancient civilization on the basis of relevant observations came to the deliberate production of pig iron. Following this, according to a number of scientists, in ancient China, for the first time, the practice of developing ductile iron and steel arose by reducing the carbon content in cast iron, heated and left in the open air. At the same time, steel in China was also obtained by carburizing iron.

In Korea, the Iron Age begins in the second half of the 1st millennium BC, and in Japan in the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC. In Indochina and Indonesia, the Iron Age begins at the turn of the eras.

Turning to Europe, we note that iron-making skills spread through the Greek cities of Asia Minor at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. to the Aegean Islands and to European Greece, where the Iron Age begins around the 10th century. BC. Starting from that time, commodity cries - spindle-shaped and in the form of rods - spread in Greece, and the dead are buried, as a rule, with iron swords. By the end of the VI century. BC. Ancient Greek craftsmen already used such important iron tools as articulated tongs, bow saws, and by the end of the 4th century. BC. - iron spring scissors and articulated compasses. The development of iron is also clearly reflected in ancient Greek texts: for example, in the Iliad and the Odyssey, Homer mentions various iron products and the operation of hardening steel; Hesiod in Theogony metaphorically characterizes simplest way production of iron from ores in a pit; Aristotle in the Meteorologica briefly describes the cheese-making process and the intentional production of steel.

In the rest of Europe, outside the Greek civilization, the Iron Age comes later: in Western and Central Europe - in the VIII-VII centuries. BC, in Southwestern Europe - in the 7th-6th centuries. BC, in Britain - in the V-IV centuries. BC, in Northern Europe - at the turn of the era.

Turning to Eastern Europe, it should be noted that in those regions that were leaders in metallurgical terms - in the Northern Black Sea region, in the North Caucasus and in the Volga-Kama region - the period of primary development of iron ended in the 9th-8th centuries. BC, which was manifested in the spread of bimetallic objects, in particular daggers and swords, the handles of which were cast from bronze according to individual models, and the blades were made of iron. They became the prototypes for subsequent all-iron daggers and swords. In the same period, along with the East European tradition based on the use of iron and raw steel, products made in the framework of the Transcaucasian tradition, which provides for the deliberate production of steel (cementation of an iron product or billet), penetrate into these regions.

And yet, a significant quantitative increase in iron products in Eastern Europe is associated with the VIII-VII centuries. BC, when the Iron Age actually begins here. The manufacturing technology of the first ore-based iron products, which was previously limited to primitive hot forging and simple forge welding, has now been enriched with the skills of forming forging (using special crimps and dies) and forge welding of several plates overlapped or folded together.

The advanced areas of iron processing in this period on the territory of the former USSR were the Ciscaucasia and Transcaucasia, the forest-steppe Dnieper region and the Volga-Kamie. The gradual beginning of the Iron Age in the forest-steppe and forest zones of Eastern Europe, excluding deep taiga and tundra territories, can also be attributed to this time.

On the territory of the Urals and Siberia, the Iron Age occurs first of all in the steppe, forest-steppe and mountain-forest regions - within the so-called Scythian-Siberian cultural-historical region and in the zone of the Itkul culture. In the taiga regions of Siberia and the Far East in the middle - the second half of the 1st millennium BC. the Bronze Age is actually still going on, but the corresponding monuments are closely interconnected with the cultures of the early Iron Age (excluding the northern part of the taiga and the tundra).

In Africa, the Iron Age is first established in the area of ​​the Mediterranean coast (in the 6th century BC), and above all in Egypt - during the 26th dynasty (663-525 BC); however, there is an opinion that the era of iron in Egypt began in the 9th century. BC. In addition, in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. the era of iron begins in Nubia and Sudan (the Meroitic, or Kushite, kingdom), as well as in a number of areas of West and Central Africa (in particular, in the zone of the so-called Nok culture in Nigeria), at the turn of the eras - in East Africa, closer to the middle I millennium AD - in South Africa.

Finally, not earlier than the middle of the 2nd millennium AD, with the advent of Europeans, the Iron Age began in most of the rest of Africa, as well as in America, Australia and the islands Pacific Ocean.

This is the approximate chronology of the onset of the Iron Age in various parts of the ecumene. The final turn of the Early Iron Age and, accordingly, the beginning of the Late Iron Age are usually conventionally associated with the collapse ancient civilization and the advent of the Middle Ages.

There are other versions of this. So, in Western European and Russian archeology back in the 19th and early 20th centuries. there was a concept of the Middle Iron Age as a transitional period from early to late, and the line between the early and middle Iron Ages was synchronized with the turn of the eras and was largely determined by the spread of provincial-Roman culture in Western Europe. Although the term "Middle Iron Age" has since fallen into disuse, there is still a tradition in Western European scholarship to leave the Early Iron Age outside of our era.

There are different opinions regarding the end of the Iron Age. It is assumed that this era lasted until the industrial revolution or even lasts to this day, because even now iron-based alloys - steel and cast iron - are one of the main structural materials.

With the onset of the Iron Age, agriculture improved, because the use of iron tools facilitated the cultivation of the land, made it possible to clear large forest areas for crops, and develop an irrigation system. The processing of wood and stone is improving, as a result of which the construction business is developing; facilitated the extraction of copper ore. The use of iron leads to the improvement of offensive and defensive weapons, horse equipment, and wheeled vehicles. The development of production and transport leads to the expansion of trade relations, as a result, a monetary business appears. In many pre-class societies, social inequality is increasing, resulting in the emergence of new centers of statehood. These are the most significant changes in the world historical and cultural situation associated with the development of iron.

Soviet and Russian historian, archaeologist, specialist in numismatics of the Golden Horde and medieval Eastern Europe, one of the founders and leader of the Volga archaeological expedition. Doctor historical sciences, professor at Moscow State University.

Days of death

1930 Died Federico Halberr- Italian archaeologist, specialist in epigraphy, who discovered the Laws of Gorty.

IRON AGE, an epoch of human history, distinguished on the basis of archeological data and characterized by the leading role of products made of iron and its derivatives (cast iron and steel). As a rule, the Iron Age replaced the Bronze Age. The beginning of the Iron Age in different regions refers to different times, and the dating of this process is approximate. An indicator of the beginning of the Iron Age is the regular use of ore iron for the manufacture of tools and weapons, the spread of ferrous metallurgy and blacksmithing; the mass use of iron products means a special stage of development already within the Iron Age, in some cultures separated from the beginning of the Iron Age by several centuries. The end of the Iron Age is often considered the onset of the technological era associated with the industrial revolution, or extended to the present.

The widespread introduction of iron made it possible to produce mass series of tools, which was reflected in the improvement and further spread of agriculture (especially in forest areas, on difficult soils for cultivation, etc.), progress in construction, crafts (in particular, saws appeared, files, articulated tools, etc.), the extraction of metals and other raw materials, the manufacture of wheeled vehicles, etc. The development of production and transport led to the expansion of trade, the appearance of coins. The use of massive iron weapons significantly affected the progress in military affairs. In many societies, all this contributed to the decomposition of primitive relations, the emergence of statehood, inclusion in the circle of civilizations, the most ancient of which are much older than the Iron Age and had a level of development that surpassed many societies of the Iron Age.

Distinguish early and late Iron Age. For many cultures, primarily European, the border between them, as a rule, refers to the era of the collapse of ancient civilization and the onset of the Middle Ages; A number of archaeologists correlate the end of the Early Iron Age with the beginning of the influence of Roman culture on many peoples of Europe in the 1st century BC - 1st century AD. In addition, different regions have their own internal periodization of the Iron Age.

The concept of "Iron Age" is used primarily to study primitive societies. The processes associated with the formation and development of statehood, the formation of modern peoples, as a rule, are considered not so much within the framework of archaeological cultures and "ages", but in the context of the history of the respective states and ethnic groups. It is with them that many archaeological cultures of the late Iron Age are correlated.

The spread of ferrous metallurgy and metalworking. The most ancient center of iron metallurgy was the region of Asia Minor, the Eastern Mediterranean, Transcaucasia (2nd half of the 2nd millennium BC). Evidence of the widespread use of iron appears in texts from the middle of the 2nd millennium. The message of the Hittite king to Pharaoh Ramesses II with a message about the dispatch of a ship loaded with iron (late 14th - early 13th century) is indicative. A significant number of iron products have been found at the archaeological sites of the 14-12th century of the New Hittite Kingdom, steel has been known in Palestine since the 12th century, in Cyprus - since the 10th century. One of the oldest finds of a metallurgical furnace dates back to the turn of the 2nd and 1st millennia (Kvemo-Bolnisi, the territory of modern Georgia), slag - in the layers of the archaic period of Miletus. At the turn of the 2nd - 1st millennia, the Iron Age began in Mesopotamia and Iran; Thus, during the excavations of the palace of Sargon II in Khorsabad (4th quarter of the 8th century), about 160 tons of iron were found, mainly in the form of krits (probably a tribute from subject territories). Perhaps, from Iran at the beginning of the 1st millennium, ferrous metallurgy spread to India (where the beginning of the widespread use of iron is attributed to the 8th or 7/6th centuries), in the 8th century - in Central Asia. In the steppes of Asia, iron became widespread no earlier than the 6th/5th century.

Through the Greek cities of Asia Minor, iron-making skills spread at the end of the 2nd millennium to the Aegean Islands and around the 10th century to mainland Greece, where since that time commodity krytsy, iron swords in burials have been known. In Western and Central Europe, the Iron Age began in the 8th-7th centuries, in Southwestern Europe - in the 7th-6th centuries, in Britain - in the 5th-4th centuries, in Scandinavia - actually at the turn of the eras.

In the Northern Black Sea region, in the North Caucasus and in the southern taiga Volga-Kama region, the period of primary development of iron ended in the 9th-8th centuries; along with things made in the local tradition, there are known products created in the Transcaucasian tradition of obtaining steel (cementing). The beginning of the Iron Age itself in the indicated and influenced regions of Eastern Europe is attributed to the 8th-7th centuries. Then the number of iron objects increased significantly, the methods of their manufacture were enriched with the skills of molding forging (with the help of special crimps and dies), overlap welding and the packing method. In the Urals and Siberia, the Iron Age was the earliest (by the middle of the 1st millennium BC) in the steppe, forest-steppe and mountain forest regions. In the taiga and the Far East, the Bronze Age actually continued in the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BC, but the population was closely associated with the cultures of the Iron Age (excluding the northern part of the taiga and the tundra).

In China, the development of ferrous metallurgy proceeded separately. Due to the highest level of bronze foundry production, the Iron Age did not begin here until the middle of the 1st millennium BC, although ore iron was known long before that. Chinese craftsmen were the first to purposefully produce cast iron and, using its fusibility, made many products not by forging, but by casting. In China, the practice of making malleable iron from cast iron by reducing the carbon content arose. In Korea, the Iron Age began in the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BC, in Japan - around the 3rd-2nd century, in Indochina and Indonesia - by the turn of the era or a little later.

In Africa, the Iron Age was first established in the Mediterranean (by the 6th century). In the middle of the 1st millennium BC, it began on the territory of Nubia and Sudan, in a number of regions of West Africa; in the Eastern - at the turn of the eras; in the South - closer to the middle of the 1st millennium AD. In a number of regions of Africa, in America, Australia and the Pacific Islands, the Iron Age began with the advent of Europeans.

The most important cultures of the early Iron Age beyond civilizations

Owing to the wide distribution and comparative ease of mining of iron ores, bronze-casting centers gradually lost their monopoly on the production of metal. Many previously backward regions began to catch up with the old cultural centers in terms of technology and socio-economic level. Accordingly, the zoning of the ecumene changed. If for the era of early metal an important culture-forming factor was belonging to a metallurgical province or to the zone of its influence, then in the Iron Age the role of ethno-linguistic, economic, cultural and other ties increased in the formation of cultural and historical communities. The widespread distribution of effective weapons made of iron contributed to the involvement of many communities in predatory and predatory wars, accompanied by mass migrations. All this led to cardinal changes in the ethno-cultural and military-political panorama.

In some cases, on the basis of linguistic data and written sources, one can speak of the dominance within certain cultural and historical communities of the Iron Age of one or a group of peoples close in language, sometimes even linking a group of archaeological sites with a specific people. However, written sources for many regions are scarce or absent; far from all communities it is possible to obtain data that would allow them to be correlated with the linguistic classification of peoples. It should be borne in mind that speakers of many languages, perhaps even entire families of languages, did not leave direct linguistic descendants, and therefore their relationship to known ethno-linguistic communities is hypothetical.

Southern, Western, Central Europe and the south of the Baltic region. After the collapse of the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization, the beginning of the Iron Age in Ancient Greece coincided with the temporary decline of the "Dark Ages". Subsequently, the widespread introduction of iron contributed to a new upsurge in the economy and society, which led to the formation of ancient civilization. On the territory of Italy, many archaeological cultures are distinguished for the beginning of the Iron Age (some of them formed in the Bronze Age); in the northwest - Golasekka, correlated with part of the Ligures; in the middle reaches of the Po River - Terramar, in the northeast - Este, compared with Veneti; in the northern and central parts of the Apennine peninsula - Villanova and others, in Campania and Calabria - "pit burials", the monuments of Puglia are associated with the messes (close to the Illyrians). In Sicily, the culture of Pantalica and others is known, in Sardinia and Corsica - nuraghe.

On the Iberian Peninsula, there were large centers for the extraction of non-ferrous metals, which led to a long-term predominance of bronze products (Tartess culture, etc.). In the early Iron Age, waves of migrations of different nature and intensity are recorded here, monuments appear that reflect local and introduced traditions. On the basis of some of these traditions, the culture of the Iberian tribes was formed. To the greatest extent, the originality of traditions was preserved in the Atlantic regions (“the culture of the settlements”, etc.).

For the development of the cultures of the Mediterranean strong impact had the Phoenician and Greek colonization, the flourishing of culture and the expansion of the Etruscans, the invasion of the Celts; later the Mediterranean became inland for the Roman Empire (see Ancient Rome).

In a large part of Western and Central Europe, the transition to the Iron Age took place during the Hallstatt era. The Hallstatt cultural area is divided into many cultures and cultural groups. Some of them in the eastern zone are correlated with groups of Illyrians, in the western zone - with the Celts. In one of the areas of the western zone, the Laten culture was formed, then spread to vast territory during the expansion and influence of the Celts. Their achievements in metallurgy and metalworking, borrowed by their northern and eastern neighbors, determined the dominance of iron products. The era of Laten defines a special period European history(about 5-1 century BC), its finale is associated with the expansion of Rome (for the territories north of the Laten culture, this era is also called “pre-Roman”, “early Iron Age”, etc.).

Sword in a scabbard with an anthropomorphic handle. Iron, bronze. The Laten culture (2nd half of the 1st millennium BC). Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).

In the Balkans, east of the Illyrians, and north to the Dniester, there were cultures associated with the Thracians (their influence reached the Dnieper, the Northern Black Sea region, up to the Bosporan state). At the end of the Bronze Age and at the beginning of the Iron Age, the commonality of these cultures is referred to as the Thracian Hallstatt. Around the middle of the 1st millennium BC, the originality of the “Thracian” cultures of the northern zone intensified, where associations of the Getae, then Dacians, took shape; were annexed to the Roman Empire.

At the end of the Bronze Age in Southern Scandinavia and partly to the south, a decline in culture is recorded, and a new rise is associated with the spread and widespread use of iron. Many Iron Age cultures north of the Celts cannot be related to known groups of peoples; it is more reliable to compare the formation of the Germans or a significant part of them with the Jastorf culture. To the east of its range and the upper Elbe to the Vistula basin, the transition to the Iron Age took place within the framework of the Lusatian culture, in the later stages of which the originality of local groups intensified. Based on one of them, the Pomeranian culture was formed, which spread in the middle of the 1st millennium BC to significant parts of the Lusatian area. Toward the end of the Laten era, the Oksyvian culture was formed in the Polish Pomorie, to the south - the Przeworsk culture. In the new era (within the 1st-4th century AD), called the “Roman imperial”, “provincial-Roman influences”, etc., various associations of Germans become the leading force to the northeast of the borders of the Empire.

From the Masurian Lake District, parts of Mazovia and Podlasie to the lower reaches of the Pregolya, in the La Tène time, the so-called culture of the Western Baltic mounds is distinguished. Its relationship with subsequent cultures for a number of regions is debatable. In Roman times, cultures associated with peoples attributed to the Balts, including the Galinds (see the Bogachev culture), Sudavs (Sudins), Aestii, comparable with the Sambian-Natang culture, etc., are recorded here, but the formation of most of the known peoples of the western and the eastern ("Summer-Lithuanian") Balts already dates back to the 2nd half of the 1st millennium AD, that is, the late Iron Age.

Steppes of Eurasia, forest zone and tundra of Eastern Europe and Siberia. By the beginning of the Iron Age, in the steppe belt of Eurasia, stretching from the Middle Danube to Mongolia, nomadic cattle breeding had developed. Mobility and organization, along with the mass character of effective (including iron) weapons and equipment, became the reason for the military and political significance of nomadic associations, which often extended power to neighboring settled tribes and were a serious threat to states from the Mediterranean to the Far East.

In the European steppes, from the middle or end of the 9th to the beginning of the 7th century BC, a community dominated, with which, according to a number of researchers, the Cimmerians are associated. The tribes of the forest-steppe (Chernolesskaya culture, Bondarikhinsky culture, etc.) were in close contact with it.

By the 7th century BC, a “Scythian-Siberian world” had formed from the Danube region to Mongolia, within which the Scythian archaeological culture, the Sauromatian archaeological culture, the Sako-Massaget circle of culture, the Pazyryk culture, the Uyuk culture, the Tagar culture (the only one that preserved the production of high-quality bronze items) and others, to varying degrees correlated with the Scythians and the peoples of "Herodotic" Scythia, Savromats, Sakas, Massagets, Yuezhi, Usuns, etc. Representatives of this community were predominantly Caucasoids, probably a significant part of them spoke Iranian languages.

In close contact with the "Cimmerian" and "Scythian" communities were the tribes of the Crimea and the population of the North Caucasus, the southern taiga of the Volga-Kama region (the Kizilkoba culture, the Meotian archaeological culture, the Koban culture, the Ananyin culture), which was distinguished by a high level of metalworking. The influence of the "Cimmerian" and Scythian cultures on the population of the Middle and Lower Danube is significant. Therefore, the distinguished "Cimmerian" (aka "pre-Scythian") and "Scythian" eras are used in the study of not only steppe cultures.

An iron arrowhead inlaid with gold and silver from the Arzhan-2 kurgan (Tuva). 7th century BC. Hermitage (St. Petersburg).

In the 4th-3rd centuries BC in the steppes of Europe, Kazakhstan and the Southern Trans-Urals, the Scythian and Savromatian cultures were replaced by the Sarmatian archaeological cultures, defining the era, divided into early, middle, late periods and lasting until the 4th century AD. A significant influence of Sarmatian cultures can be traced in the North Caucasus, which reflects both the resettlement of a part of the steppe population and the transformation under its influence of local cultures. The Sarmatians also penetrated far into the forest-steppe regions - from the Dnieper to Northern Kazakhstan, in various forms contacting the local population. Large stationary settlements and craft centers east of the Middle Danube are associated with the Sarmatians of Alföld. Partly continuing the traditions of the previous era, largely Sarmatized and Hellenized, the so-called late Scythian culture was preserved in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and in the Crimea, where a kingdom arose with its capital in Scythian Naples, part of the Scythians, according to written sources, concentrated on the Lower Danube; A number of researchers also include some groups of sites of the Eastern European forest-steppe as "Late Scythian".

in Central Asia and Southern Siberia the end of the era of the "Scythian-Siberian world" is associated with the rise of the Xiongnu unification at the end of the 3rd century BC under Maodun. Although it collapsed in the middle of the 1st century BC, the southern Xiongnu fell into the orbit of Chinese influence, and the northern Xiongnu were finally defeated by the middle of the 2nd century AD, the “Xiongnu” era is extended until the middle of the 1st millennium AD. Monuments correlated with the Xiongnu (Xiongnu) are known in a significant part of Transbaikalia (for example, the Ivolginsky archaeological complex, Ilmovaya Pad), Mongolia, steppe Manchuria and testify to the complex ethnocultural composition of this association. Along with the penetration of the Xiongnu, the development of local traditions continued in Southern Siberia [in Tuva - the Shumrak culture, in Khakassia - the Tesinsky type (or stage) and the Tashtyk culture, etc.]. The ethnic and military-political history of Central Asia in the Iron Age is largely based on information from Chinese written sources. One can trace the advancement of one or several associations of nomads, which extended power over vast areas, their disintegration, absorption by the next, and so on. (Donghu, Tabgachi, Juan, etc.). The complexity of the composition of these associations, the poor knowledge of a number of regions of Central Asia, the difficulties of dating, etc., make their comparison with archaeological sites still very hypothetical.

The next era in the history of the steppes of Asia and Europe is associated with the dominance of speakers of Turkic languages, the formation of the Turkic Khaganate, which replaced it with other medieval military-political associations and states.

The cultures of the settled population of the forest-steppe of Eastern Europe, the Urals, and Siberia were often included in the “Scythian-Siberian”, “Sarmatian”, “Hunnic” “worlds”, but could form cultural communities with forest tribes or formed their own cultural areas.

In the forest zone of the Upper Ponemanye and Dvina, Podneprovye and Poochye, the traditions of the Bronze Age continued the culture of hatched ceramics, the Dnieper-Dvinskaya culture, the Dyakovo culture, developed on the basis of predominantly local cultures. In the early stages of their development, although iron was common, it did not become the dominant raw material; Archaeologists characterized the monuments of this circle on the basis of mass finds of bone products at the main objects of excavation - hillforts as "bone-bearing hillforts". The massive use of iron here begins around the end of the 1st millennium BC, when changes occur in other areas of culture, migrations are noted. Therefore, for example, in relation to the cultures of hatched ceramics and Dyakovo, researchers distinguish the corresponding "early" and "late" cultures as different formations.

In terms of origin and appearance, the early Dyakovo culture is close to the Gorodets culture adjoining from the east. By the turn of the eras, its range is significantly expanded to the south and north, to the taiga regions of the Vetluga River. Near the turn of the eras, the population is moving into its range because of the Volga; from Sura to the Ryazan Poochie, cultural groups are formed associated with the tradition of the Andreevsky Kurgan. On their basis, the cultures of the late Iron Age were formed, associated with the speakers of the Finno-Volga languages.

The southern zone of the forested Dnieper region was occupied by the Milogradskaya culture and the Yukhnovskaya culture, in which a significant influence of the Scythian culture and Latena can be traced. Several waves of migration from the Vistula-Oder region led to the appearance of the Pomeranian and Przeworsk cultures in Volyn, the formation of the Zarubintsy culture in most of the south of the forest and forest-steppe Dnieper region. It, along with the Oksyv, Przeworsk, Poyanesti-Lukashevsky cultures, is singled out in the circle of “Latenized”, noting the special influence of the Laten culture. In the 1st century AD, the Zarubinets culture experienced a collapse, but on the basis of its traditions, with the participation of the more northern population, monuments of the late Zarubinets horizon were formed, which formed the basis of the Kiev culture, which determined the cultural appearance of the forest and part of the forest-steppe Dnieper region in the 3rd-4th centuries AD. On the basis of the Volyn monuments of the Przeworsk culture, the Zubrets culture was formed in the 1st century AD.

With the cultures that adopted the components of the Pomeranian culture, primarily along the so-called Zarubintsy line, researchers associate the formation of the Slavs.

In the middle of the 3rd century AD, from the Lower Danube to the Seversky Donets, the Chernyakhov culture developed, in which the Velbar culture played a significant role, the spread of which to the southeast is associated with the migrations of the Goths and Gepids. The collapse of socio-political structures correlated with the Chernyakhov culture under the blows of the Huns at the end of the 4th century AD marked the beginning of new era in the history of Europe - the Great Migration of Nations.

In the north-east of Europe, the beginning of the Iron Age is associated with the Ananyino cultural and historical region. On the territory of northwestern Russia and part of Finland, cultures are widespread in which the components of the Ananyino and textile ceramics of cultures are intertwined with local ones (Luukonsari-Kudoma, Late Kargopol culture, Late White Sea, etc.). In the basins of the Pechora, Vychegda, Mezen, Northern Dvina rivers, sites appear in which ceramics continued to develop the comb ornamental tradition associated with the Lebyazh culture, while new ornamental motifs testify to interaction with the Kama and Trans-Ural population groups.

By the 3rd century BC, on the basis of the Ananyino culture, the communities of the Pyanobor culture and the Glyadenovo culture were formed (see Glyadenovo). A number of researchers consider the middle of the 1st millennium AD to be the upper limit of the cultures of the Pianobor circle, others single out the Mazuninskaya culture, the Azelinskaya culture, etc. New stage historical development associated with a number of migrations, including the appearance of monuments of the Kharino circle, which led to the formation of medieval cultures associated with speakers of modern Permian languages.

In the mountain forest and taiga regions of the Urals and Western Siberia in the early Iron Age, the cross-ceramic culture, the Itkul culture, the comb-pit ceramic culture of the West Siberian circle, the Ust-Polui culture, the Kulai culture, the Beloyarskaya, Novochekinskaya, Bogochanovskaya, and others were widespread; in the 4th century BC, the focus on non-ferrous metalworking was preserved here (the center is associated with the Itkul culture, supplying many areas, including the steppe, with raw materials and copper products), in some cultures, the spread of ferrous metallurgy refers to the 3rd third of the 1st millennium BC. This cultural circle is associated with the ancestors of the speakers of some of the modern Ugric languages ​​and Samoyedic languages.

Iron items from the Barsovsky III burial ground (Surgut Ob region). 6-2/1 century BC (according to V. A. Borzunov, Yu. P. Chemyakin).

To the south was the region of the forest-steppe cultures of Western Siberia, the northern periphery of the nomadic world, associated with the southern branch of the Ugric peoples (the Vorobyov and Nosilovo-Baitov cultures; they were replaced by the Sargat culture, the Gorokhov culture). In the forest-steppe Ob region in the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BC, the Kizhirov, Staro-Aley, Kamenskaya cultures spread, which are sometimes combined into one community. Part of the forest-steppe population was involved in the migrations of the middle of the 1st millennium AD, the other part moved north along the Irtysh (Potchevash culture). Along the Ob to the south, up to the Altai, the Kulay culture (Upper Ob culture) spread. The remaining population, associated with the traditions of the Sargat and Kamensk cultures, was Turkified in the Middle Ages.

In the forest cultures of Eastern Siberia (late Ymyyakhtakh culture, Pyasinskaya, Tsepanskaya, Ust-Milskaya, etc.), bronze items are few in number, mostly imported; iron processing appears no earlier than the end of the 1st millennium BC from the Amur region and Primorye. These cultures were left by mobile groups of hunters and fishermen - the ancestors of the Yukagirs, the northern part of the Tungus-Manchurian peoples, the Chukchi, Koryaks, etc.

Eastern regions of Asia. In the cultures of the Russian Far East, northeast China and Korea, the Bronze Age is not as pronounced as in Siberia or in more southern regions, but already at the turn of the 2nd-1st millennium BC, the development of iron began here within the framework of the Uril culture and the Yankov culture, and then the Talakan, Olgin, Poltsevo cultures and other cultures close to them from the territory of China (Wanyanhe, Guntulin, Fenglin) and Korea that replaced them. Some of these cultures are associated with the ancestors of the southern part of the Tungus-Manchurian peoples. More northern monuments (Lakhta, Okhotsk, Ust-Belsk and other cultures) are offshoots of the Ymyyakhtakh culture, which reach Chukotka in the middle of the 1st millennium BC and, interacting with the Paleo-Eskimos, participate in the formation of the ancient Bering Sea culture. The presence of iron incisors is evidenced, first of all, by the turning tips of bone harpoons made with their help.

On the territory of Korea, the manufacture of stone tools prevailed during the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, mainly weapons, some types of jewelry, etc. were made from metal. The spread of iron is attributed to the middle of the 1st millennium BC, when the Joseon unification took shape here; the later history of these cultures is connected with the Chinese conquests, the formation and development of local states (Koguryeo, etc.). On the Japanese islands, iron appeared and became widespread during the development of the Yayoi culture, within which tribal unions were formed in the 2nd century AD, and then the state formation of Yamato. In Southeast Asia, the beginning of the Iron Age falls on the era of the formation of the first states.

Africa. In the Mediterranean regions, significant parts of the Nile basin, near the Red Sea, the formation of the Iron Age took place on the basis of the cultures of the Bronze Age, within the framework of civilizations (Ancient Egypt, Meroe), in connection with the emergence of colonies from Phoenicia, the heyday of Carthage; by the end of the 1st millennium BC, Mediterranean Africa became part of the Roman Empire.

A feature of the development of more southern cultures is the absence of the Bronze Age. The penetration of iron metallurgy south of the Sahara is attributed by some researchers to the influence of Meroe. More and more arguments are being expressed in favor of a different point of view, according to which the routes across the Sahara played an important role in this. Such could be the "roads of chariots" reconstructed from rock carvings, they could pass through Fezzan, as well as where the ancient state of Ghana was formed, etc. In a number of cases, iron production could be concentrated in specialized areas, monopolized by their inhabitants, and blacksmiths could form closed communities; communities of different economic specialization and level of development coexisted. All this, as well as the poor archaeological knowledge of the continent, makes our understanding of the development of the Iron Age here very hypothetical.

In West Africa, the oldest evidence for the production of iron products (2nd half of the 1st millennium BC) is associated with the Nok culture, its relationship with synchronous and later cultures is largely unclear, but no later than the 1st half of the 1st millennium AD, iron was known throughout West Africa. However, even on monuments associated with state formations of the late 1st millennium - the 1st half of the 2nd millennium AD (Igbo-Ukwu, Ife, Benin, etc.), there are few iron products; during the colonial period, it was one of import items.

On the east coast of Africa, Azania cultures are attributed to the Iron Age, and there is evidence of iron imports in relation to them. An important stage in the history of the region is associated with the development of trading settlements with the participation of immigrants from southwestern Asia, primarily Muslims (such as Kilwa, Mogadishu, etc.); centers for the production of iron are known for this time from written and archaeological sources.

In the Congo Basin, the interior of East Africa and to the south, the spread of iron is associated with cultures belonging to the tradition of "pottery with a concave bottom" ("pit at the bottom", etc.) and traditions close to it. The beginning of metallurgy in some places of these regions is attributed to different segments of the 1st half (no later than the middle) of the 1st millennium AD. Migrants from these lands probably brought iron to South Africa for the first time. A number of emerging "empires" in the basin of the Zambezi, Congo (Zimbabwe, Kitara, etc.) were associated with the export of gold, ivory, etc.

A new stage in the history of sub-Saharan Africa is associated with the emergence of European colonies.

Lit .: Mongait A. L. Archeology of Western Europe. M., 1973-1974. Book. 1-2; Coghlan H. H. Notes on prehistoric and early iron in the Old World. Oxf., 1977; Waldbaum J. C. From bronze to iron. Gott., 1978; The coming of the age of iron. New Haven; L., 1980; Iron Age Africa. M., 1982; Archeology of Foreign Asia. M., 1986; Steppes of the European part of the USSR in the Scythian-Sarmatian time. M., 1989; Tylecote R. F. A history of metallurgy. 2nd ed. L., 1992; The steppe zone of the Asian part of the USSR in the Scythian-Sarmatian time. M., 1992; Shchukin M. B. At the turn of the era. SPb., 1994; Essays on the history of ancient ironworking in Eastern Europe. M., 1997; Collis J. The European Iron age. 2nd ed. L., 1998; Yalcin U. Early iron metallurgy in Anatolia // Anatolian Studies. 1999 Vol. 49; Kantorovich A.R., Kuzminykh S.V. Early Iron Age // BRE. M., 2004. T.: Russia; Troitskaya T.N., Novikov A.V. Archeology of the West Siberian Plain. Novosib., 2004; Russian Far East in antiquity and the Middle Ages; discoveries, problems, hypotheses. Vladivostok, 2005; Kuzminykh S.V. Final Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the north of European Russia // II Northern Archaeological Congress. Ekaterinburg; Khanty-Mansiysk, 2006; Archeology. M., 2006; Koryakova L. N., Epimakhov A. E. The Urals and Western Siberia in the Bronze and Iron ages. Camb., 2007.

I. O. Gavritukhin, A. R. Kantorovich, S. V. Kuzminykh.

The Iron Age is a period in the history of mankind which is characterized by the spread of processing and smelting of iron, the manufacture of tools and weapons from iron. The Iron Age replaced the Bronze Age at the beginning of the first millennium BC.

The idea of ​​three ages: stone, bronze and iron arose in ancient times. This is well described by Titus Lucretius Cara in his philosophical poem "On the Nature of Things", in which the progress of mankind is seen in the development of metallurgy. The term Iron Age was coined in the 19th century by the Danish archaeologist C.J. Thomsen.

Although iron is the most common metal, it was later mastered by mankind, due to the fact that in nature in its pure form iron is difficult to distinguish from other minerals, in addition, iron has a higher melting point than bronze. Before the discovery of methods for producing steel from iron and its heat treatment, iron was inferior in strength and anti-corrosion qualities to bronze.

Initially, iron was used to make jewelry and was smelted from meteorites. The first iron products were found in Egypt and northern Iraq, they were dated to the third millennium BC. According to one of the most probable hypotheses, the smelting of iron from ores was discovered by the Khalib tribe who lived in Asia Minor in the 15th century BC. However, iron remained a very valuable and rare metal for a very long time.

The rapid spread of iron and the displacement of bronze and stone by it as a material for the production of tools was facilitated by: firstly, the wide distribution of iron in nature and its lower cost compared to bronze; secondly, the discovery of ways to obtain steel made iron tools of better quality than bronze ones.

The Iron Age came to regions of the world at different times. Initially in the 12th-11th centuries BC, iron production spread to Asia Minor, the Middle East, Mesopotamia, Iran, Transcaucasia and India. In the 9th-7th centuries BC, the production of iron tools spread among the primitive tribes of Europe, starting from the 8th-7th centuries BC. the production of iron tools extends to the European part of Russia. In China and Far East The Iron Age begins in the 8th century BC. in Egypt and North Africa the production of iron tools spreads in the 7th-6th centuries BC.

In the 2nd century BC e. The Iron Age came to the tribes inhabiting Central Africa. Some primitive tribes of Central and South Africa passed from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, bypassing the Bronze Age. America, Australia, New Zealand and Oceania saw iron (except meteoric) only in the 16th-17th centuries AD, when representatives of European civilization appeared in these areas.

The spread of iron tools led to a technical revolution in human society. The power of man in his struggle with the elements increased, the impact of people on nature increased, the introduction of iron tools facilitated the work of farmers, it became possible to clear large forest areas for fields, contributed to the improvement of irrigation facilities and, in general, improved the technology of tillage. The technology of processing wood and stone for the purpose of building houses, defensive structures and vehicles (ships, chariots, carts, etc.) is being improved. The military has improved. Craftsmen received more advanced tools, which contributed to the improvement and acceleration of the development of crafts. Trade relations expanded, the decomposition of the primitive communal system accelerated, which contributed to the acceleration of the transition to a class - slave-owning society.

Due to the fact that iron is still an important material in the production of tools, modern period history goes back to the Iron Age.