Std V

Social Studies

Ch-3,The Iron Age

Introduction:

The Iron Age was a period in human history that started between 1200 B.C.

and 600 B.C., depending on the region, and followed the Stone Age and Bronze

Age. During the Iron Age, people across much of Europe, Asia and parts of

Africa began making tools and weapons from iron and steel

The Iron Age is the period of prehistory that came after the Bronze Age.

Iron Age started between 1200 and 600 BC in different regions of the

world.

During this period, people began the formation of tools and weapons

from iron and steel.

Iron was tougher than bronze, so the people of Iron Age became capable

to make sharp tools like swords and spears.

They also made harvesting tools from iron, such as plow (Ard) and

sickles.

Iron tools played a wide role in the development of cultures and

societies and in the establishment of kingdoms.

Topics:

Iron Age

Life of people in Iron age

Tools and Weapons

Transporatation in Iron Age

Iron age sites in India

How was Iron age developed?

People in parts of western Africa and southwestern Asia were the first to

realize that the dark-silvery rocks poking out of the earth could be

worked into tools and weapons, sometime around 1500 B.C.The metal

was probably discovered there by accident when some ore was dropped

into a fire and cooled into wrought iron.

Did You Know?

Wrought Iron is an iron alloy with very low carbon contents with respect to

cast iron. It is soft, ductile, magnetic, and has high elasticity and tensile

strength.

Why Iron Preferred over bronze?

The Bronze Age weapons were weaker and less effective than the Iron

Age weapons. As the bronze is much softer material than iron.

Due to softness, it was impossible to make sharp edges of the bronze

weapons. On the other hand, iron weapons were much harder and

capable to sustain sharp edges.

As compared to bronze, iron is a widely available metal on the earth’s

crust, so it was easy during the Iron Age to obtain a weapon. While the

weapons were not in the access of everybody during the Bronze Age.

Iron age Inventions:

People in the Iron Age basically used the iron to produce two types of tools:

Agricultural or farming tools

Weapons

Hammering the iron was known as 'smithing'. The Iron Age helped many

countries to become more technologically advanced

Tool Name Uses

Ard Ard was a scratch plow with the pointed iron tip

Iron sickles A tool for harvesting crops

Coulter An iron-made farming tool used for breaking the ground

Plowshare A farming tool used for making uniform rows in the field

Swords The iron made sword was an efficient weapon

Lances and spears Long wooden weapons with iron tips

Rotary quern A machine for grinding grains

Potters Wheel Wheel for making pottery

Iron-making tools

Iron Age blacksmiths made strong swords by heating a bar of iron over a

charcoal fire.

When the iron was white-hot, the smith rested the bar on an anvil. Then

he hammered it into shape before it cooled.

Smiths worked with tongs and hammers and they used metal files to

smooth off any rough edges from the finished sword.

Rotary Quern:

The rotary quern was used to grind grain into flour. It was made from

two flat stones, one on top of the other. The upper stone had a handle

and movable in a circular direction around an axel while the lower stone

was immoveable.

Grain was poured into a hole in the upper stone.

The top stone was then turned by a handle. Because the lower stone

didn't move the grain was crushed between the two stones.

The rotary quern made grinding flour much quicker and easier than

before.

Potter’s Wheel:

British people started using potter's wheels at the end of the Iron Age.

They used their feet to turn the wheel. As it turned, the potters used

both hands to shape the clay.

The use of a wheel meant that people could make pots in many shapes

and sizes.

The technology of wheel thrown-pottery was developed around 4500

BC. It made the pottery making process easy and fast.

Iron Tipped Plough

Iron Age ploughs are sometimes known as 'ards'. They were made from

wood, but they had an iron tip on the end of the plough to help it cut

through heavy soil.

The plough was guided by the farmer and pulled by oxen. Farmers no

longer needed to use antlers and stone tools to dig up their land.

Loom

Weavers hung long threads from a tall loom made from wood. These

vertical threads (known as the warp) were weighted down with stones.

Then the weavers used a wooden tool called a shuttle to pass a different

thread (called the weft) between the vertical threads.

weavers used natural dyes to colour their threads. They produced

brightly-coloured cloth with bold patterns of checks and stripes.

Iron Age Weapons:

Early Iron Age swords were significantly different from later steel swords. They

were work-hardened, rather than quench-hardened, which made them about

the same or only slightly better in terms of strength and hardness to earlier

bronze swords.

Iron age Chariots:

The chariot was a fast, light, open, two-wheeled conveyance drawn by two or

more horses that were hitched side by side, and was little more than a floor

with a waist-high guard at the front and sides.

The archeological evidence shows that there was widespread use of

chariots in the wars during the Iron Age.

Chariots were used to quickly move the heavily armed warriors to the

battlefield.

Did You Know?

The arraival of Aryans marks the beginning of Iron age in India

Armour and Shields:

A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not

be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific

attacks. Often shields were decorated with a painted pattern or an animal

representation to show their army or clan.

Projectile weapons:

Spears and javelins were the projectile weapons of the Iron Age. These

weapons had an iron tip attached with a shaft of wood.

The projectile weapons were effective for attacking the enemy from a

long distance.

They also used projectile weapons such as spears and javelins to attack

the enemy from long distances.

The weapons of the Iron Age warriors were buried along with their dead

bodies, while the princes and other noblemen were buried along with

their weapons as well as horses.

Swards and daggers:

The most common weapons in the Iron Age were swords, spears, axes,

and shield

It is revealed from the Iron Age tombs of the men that the princes and

noble state persons were armed with bronze armor and helmet, a shield,

and iron made attacking weapons; an axe or sword and spear.

The swords of the Iron Age were short and were much like a large

dagger. It usually had a cover sheet and hung across the chest or back.

Main Charecteristics of Iron Age

By the end of the Iron Age many people lived in hill forts. The forts were

surrounded by walls and ditches and warriors defended their people

from enemy attacks.

Inside the hill forts, families lived in round houses. These were simple

one-roomed homes with a pointed thatched roof and walls made from

wattle and daub (a mixture of mud and twigs).

In the centre of a round house was a fire where meals were cooked in a

cauldron. Around the walls were jars for storing food and beds made

from straw covered with animal skins.

Iron Age farmers grew crops and vegetables. They kept geese, goats and

pigs and had large herds of cows and flocks of sheep. Some people

worked as potters, carpenters and metalworkers.

Men and boys trained as warriors. They had to be prepared to fight at

any time.

Transportation:

While traveling on rivers, people of the Iron Age used dugouts. The dugouts

were made from either lime trees or oak trees and the logs were hollowed out.

The builders would spread out the wood so the dugouts could accommodate

more people for travel. While the dugouts were primarily used to travel small

distances on rivers, they were also sometimes used for longer sea travel.

A famous example of a bigger boat used during the early Iron Age is the

Hjortspring boat. This was a plank boat that was pushed forward by paddles.

Its light weight made it easy to manoeuvre during sea travel.

New Word

Manoeuvre:Aphysical movement requiring skill and care.

Clothes:

The clothes of Iron Age people were made from wool and dyed with natural

vegetable dyes (from plants and berries) in: blue, yellow or red. Bracae

(trousers) would be worn under a tunic, held at the waist with a belt.Brooches

and pins would have been used to fasten their clothes.

Men would wear a tunic with a belt, a cloak and trousers. Women wore floor-

length skirts or dresses made of wool or linen and wore shawls or cloaks.

Cloaks were made from wool and fastened by brooaches and pins.

Reeligious Beliefs:

The Iron age people believed in more than one god. Archaeologists

believe that the Iron Age people had many gods and goddesses.

These were not necessarily good or bad spirits but could react in a

certain way, depending on how they were treated.

They worshipped their gods through sacrifice, giving them valuable

objects to keep them happy.

They also sacrificed weapons to the gods by throwing them into lakes,

rivers and places they considered special.

Iron Age sites in India:

The earliest Iron Age sites in South India are Hallur, Karnataka and

Adichanallur, Tamil Nadu at around 1000 BCE. Iron Age in India can be traced

back to the period after the late Harappan culture. Painted Grey ware culture

and Northern Black Polished Ware are considered as the main Iron Age

archaeological cultures.

The Iron Age of North India can be taken to end with the rise of the Maurya

Dynasty.

South India enters history with the Sangam period that starts in the 3rd

century BC. From about 800 B.C. to about 550, the Aryans expanded towards

the east.

It is believed that the Iron Age started from early 1000 BC. Aryans knew the

usage of iron well. It is believed that the Iron Age started from the period when

Rig Veda was composed.

Men had started using iron in making weapons and other implements that

indicated high culture and civilization in this age.

This period follows the late Harappan Culture.

Ch-3, Iron age

I. Fill in the Blanks

1. __________ is the last principal period in the three-age system.

2. ___________ was previously used to make tools than iron.

3. The Iron age began with the development of higher

temperature_________ techniques.

4. Around 1800B.C_________ became scarce causing a decline in bronze

production.

5. Iron by itself an adequately strong metal without additional __________

6. __________ is an Iron alloy with very low carbon contents.

7. The Iron age ploughs were sometimes known as ____________

8. The clothes of Iron Age people were made from___________

9. A ___________ was worn by important people like chieftains and

warriors.

10. People in the iron age believed in powerful_________

(Ans: 1. Iron Age, 2. Bronze, 3. Smelting, 4. Tin, 5. Alloys, 6. Wrought Iron, 7.

Ards, 8. Wool,9. Torc, 10. Spirits.)

II.Q/A:

Q1. When did the Iron Age start? (OMR)

A1. 12th Century

Q3. Why iron was preferred over Bronze?

A3. 1) Iron is by itself a very strong metal without additional alloys.

2) Bronze required copper and tin to make it strong.

3) In addition to this iron can be sharpened by grinding whereas bronze must

be reforged.

Q7 Name some Iron Age weapons (OMR)

A7 Short swords, Daggers.

Q8. What type of clothes did people in Iron age wear?

A8. 1) The Iron age people wore clothes made from wool which were dyed

with natural vegetable dyes from plants and berries.

2) Trousers were worn under a tunic, with a belt at the waist.

3) They wore a cloak with a striped or checked pattern along with a brooch.

III.Short Notes

1) Rotary Querns: -

The rotary query was used to grind grain into flour. It was made of two stones

one on top of other.

Grains was poured in the upper hole in the upper stone which was then turned

by its handle as the lower stone didn’t move the grain crushed between

stones.

2) Iron Making Tools: -

During the Iron Age blacksmiths made strong sword by heating a bar of iron

over fire. When the iron was very hot he rested the bar on an anvil and

hammered it into shape before it cooled.

IV.Give Reason.

1.Why Irons use was ceremonial during middle Bronze Age.

A. Iron use was ceremonial during middle Bronze Age because during bronze

age Iron was more expensive even than gold.

2.Why people lived in hill forts during Iron Age?

A. People lived in hill forts during Iron Age to keep safe from the attacks of the

rival tribes.