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.