Editing History of technology (section)

==== Iron Age ====
{{Main|Iron Age}}
[[File:Axe of iron from Swedish Iron Age, found at Gotland, Sweden.jpg|thumb|upright|An [[axe]]head made of iron, dating from the Swedish [[Iron Age]]]]
Before iron smelting was developed the only iron was obtained from meteorites and is usually identified by having nickel content. [[Meteoric iron]] was rare and valuable, but was sometimes used to make tools and other implements, such as fish hooks.

The '''[[Iron Age]]''' involved the adoption of  [[bloomery|iron smelting]] technology. It generally replaced bronze and made it possible to produce tools which were stronger, lighter and cheaper to make than bronze equivalents. The raw materials to make iron, such as ore and limestone, are far more abundant than copper and especially tin ores. Consequently, iron was produced in many areas.

It was not possible to mass manufacture steel or pure iron because of the high temperatures required. Furnaces could reach melting temperature but the crucibles and molds needed for melting and casting had not been developed. Steel could be produced by [[forging]] bloomery iron to reduce the carbon content in a somewhat controllable way, but steel produced by this method was not homogeneous.

In many Eurasian cultures, the Iron Age was the last major step before the development of written language, though again this was not universally the case.

In Europe, large [[hill fort]]s were built either as a refuge in time of war or sometimes as permanent settlements. In some cases, existing forts from the Bronze Age were expanded and enlarged. The pace of land clearance using the more effective iron axes increased, providing more farmland to support the growing population.