When did the Iron Age begin and end?

Question

Does anybody have a rough time frame for the Iron Age? Nothing too exact, just an estimate.

Answer 1

Depends in what location of the world you are looking at. The iron age developed at different times in different locations. For instance, Europe, Asia, and Africa all have different times of origins. Some sites indicate dates around 1000 BC. Overall, metallurgy is too complex of a concept to place neatly into a time frame. This is due to variations in dates of sites and time lag in diffusion.

Answer 2

The Iron Age is marked by the development in a society of iron tools. Since this happened at different times in different parts of the world, there is no one answer for beginning or end. But for most of southern europe, it began around the 12th century BC and goes to the time of the Greek and Roman Empires.

Answer 3

Approximately 3000 yrs. to the present. And as one person who answered earlier said, there are different time periods for different areas or cultures.

A question to ponder is, is it really over? And what will the new age be called. Industrial age, information age, or the age of insolence.

Answer 4

I think all answers are good. Who could have marked them bad? Besides as know the most ancient iron metallurgy was discovered in Nigeria that is dated 5000BC. Most ancient copper metallurgy is dated 9000BC in S-E Turkey.

Answer 5

About 1850 BC, is when the Hittites first developed iron weapons. You have the approximate end, already.

Answer 6

As for what event started it, instead it was a person who could create from what everybody else knew but thought it was just something that happened and couldn't be used to lead to anything: After forest fires land over ores became solid iron.