At one point, iron was the main mineral used in various activities in Asia, Africa, and Europe. The adoption happened in various seasons in different places on the earth. The first iron was mined in 3000B.C, according to the archeological lecturer at Cranfield Forensics.
In the 19th century, some scholars commenced their journey of using a variety of iron ages, stone ages, and bronze ages. Let’s look at some inventions that happened after the first and second millennium:
- Cast Iron
Reports in archaeological research indicate that cast iron was the earliest, used by the Chinese in the 8th century. Iron, mixed with other alloys and carbon, could make it harder. Its major role was in agricultural development. During contour plowing, a millboard plow was used in pushing the soil away. Such activities cut away the effects of soil erosion.
- Quenching
This involves making the iron brittle and harder. It was familiar in Asia and Europe. Iron was transformed into steel and becomes harder than bronze. Quenching began in the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. An iron was thrown inside heated pieces of wood and placed in cold water abruptly. By doing this, the steel becomes harder than before. But archeology said that it was ambitious to state the exact dates when quenching began, a report by the book ‘The Odyssey’.
- Steel Weapons
It was until the 14th century that King Tutankhamun got buried with an iron dagger. Meteorite raw materials made the sword. Most scholars refer to that period as the beginning of steel weapons. They used the knowledge of steel production to turn irons into sharp weapons for defense.
Bronze was considered strong so, it was the main material in the manufacture of weapons. But when quenching came up, iron steel became harder, and it made quality swords. Vered Jericho is a famous iron stone age when weapons were mainly made from steel. It occurred in the 7th century in Israel.
Despite others considering a shift to iron and steel weapons, some communities stuck with bronze. They trusted bronze rather than quenched iron. Some communities employed raw materials like silver, gold, and stones in making sharp weapons.
Since iron was easily mined, most of the weapons as time goes by were mainly from iron. Even during the wars, kingdoms that had the mineral had an added advantage.
- Coins
Even though silver and gold existed years before, the original metal used in the exchange for goods and services came during the stone age. That was the evolution of imprinted coins.
It was around 600 BC when the first coin came into existence. This was invented by Anatolia Kingdom, Lydia. The coins had images of tough animals like elephants, lions, etc. They were very pure iron with little weight. They were very different from each other.
When we look back, in the 4th century B.C., the Roman Empire had started its journey of producing coins. They mainly used bronze, then shifted to gold and silver. Later, the coins were a popular method of exchange in London. It was a moment when the Roman Empire tried to invade London. Most of their coins had a charging bull and god Apollo on top. They respected their god too much to the fact that they could place his image in most staff.
The coin’s evolution has grown over time. People were shifting from silver and gold to iron. The king of the kingdoms was the final decider of which material would make their coins. Regarding the exchange rates, the value varies depending on the materials used in making your coins. However, on most occasions, the exchange was between coins and goods, not coins to coins. The Roman empire was the top producer of valuable coins during the iron period.
- Rotary Quernstone
This involves a blunt tool that was mainly used for grinding grains. It was popular in 5600 B.C. This age does involve the use of iron directly. The two stones were made from a variety of raw materials. One large stone had a hole where grains were poured into it. Another stone had a blunt lower side which was then rotated inside the lower stone to grind grains. Over the sides, the light ground grains would spill out.
Although one could spend more time crushing the grains, it was worth your time. Most people around the world adopted this method. Over time, more rotary questions were invented which eased the take.
Britain was among the first people in the world to use rotary quernstone. They invented the method in 400BC when they were overwhelmed with the practice of crushing grains before cooking. They transferred the knowledge from one community to another. Whenever a new kingdom got the information about it, they went ahead to modify the two stones into something they thought was perfect. It is over time that the developed method of grinding grains was invented.
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