Iron Age

Definition: The Iron Age is part of the Three Age System, which was invented in the early 19th century by Danish museum director C.J. Thomsen to attempt to make sense out of his collections (the others are the Stone Age and Bronze Age). In reality, the technology of iron smelting was developed at different times throughout the Old World, and in some cases (like Africa) the Bronze Age was entirely skipped. The technique of iron smelting provided access to efficient and durable metal tools and weapons.

Selected Recent Iron Age Papers

Alvarez-Anchis, Jesus R. 2000 The Iron Age in western Spain (800 BC-AD 50): An overview. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 19(1):65-89.

Ballard, Robert D., et al. 2002 Iron Age Shipwrecks in Deep Water off Ashkelon, Israel. American Journal of Archaeology 106(2):151-168.

Childs, S. Terry. 1991. Transformations: Iron and copper production in central Africa. Glumac, Petar D. MASCA: Recent trends in archaeometallurgical research 8(1):33-46.

González-Ruibal, Alfredo 2006 House societies vs. kinship-based societies: An archaeological case from Iron Age Europe. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 25(1):144-173.

Hardin, James W. 2004 Understanding domestic space: An example from Iron Age Tel Halif. Near Eastern Archaeology 67(2):71-83.

Papadopoulos, John K., Lorenc Bejko, and Sarah P. Morris 2007 Excavations at the Prehistoric Burial Tumulus of Lofkënd in Albania: A Preliminary Report for the 2004–2005 Seasons. American Journal of Archaeology 111(1):105-148.

Trishina, I. V. 2005 Multifigured compositions in the art of the Pazyryk culture. Anthropology and Archaeology of Eurasia 43(4):19-48.

Usman, Aribidesi A. 2004 On the frontier of empire: understanding the enclosed walls in Northern Yoruba, Nigeria. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23(1):119-132