MONTESSORI INTEGRATED SCHOOL
SECOND QUARTER
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY 6
SUPPLEMENT 4
Name:_______________________________________ Date:_________________
TOPIC: METAL AGE
Metals make a presence in the life of early men much later. The early man had
nothing he could call his own until the time he learned to make various articles. From
stones he progressed to wood and bones and finally the metals.
The Stone Age man discovered metals nearly by chance. How did he come to
know about them? Once he was searching for stones to make tools and saw some
reddish-green nuggets in the riverbed. Nuggets are small round balls of metals. Man
thought that the nuggets were stones. He started shaping them in the same manner as
he shaped the stones. He hit them against each other, to his surprise instead of
breaking they changed shape. He tried to change them into the shapes he wanted. The
nuggets changed shape accordingly. Man discovered that these nuggets turned to
copper only after he heated them at high temperature. This is how he discovered the
first metal copper. He started using it to make spearheads, arrowheads, knives, pots
and pans, beads and bangles. Early man found two other metals that were softer than
copper. He could not use them to make tools. These metals were gold and silver. They
glittered and looked very attractive, he used them to make ornaments.
Early man learned that metals become soft when put on fire and become liquid at
very high temperatures. He started smelting metals in a furnace. Smelting is a process
where solid metal is put into a furnace. Due to high temperature the metal turns into
liquid that is molten metal. The man put the hot molten metal into molds forming the
desired shapes in creating different tools, utensils and weapons. This process is known
as metallurgy and took place during the Age of Metals.
Sometimes, while smelting metals, a mixture of two metals would produce a new
one. This new metal is called an alloy. Experience taught man that alloys were stronger
and harder than pure metals. Once man learned about alloys he started experimenting
with different metals that he discovered. Man gradually learnt to mix tin with copper to
produce bronze, a very hard metal. He used bronze to make tools, weapons, statues
and decorative articles. Since alloys are stronger, man could now make elegant and
sturdier articles. The early man went on to discover new metals. The last metal people
discovered was iron. It is a hard and water resistant metal. After the discovery of metals
man stopped using stone tools and used only metal for all purposes. The Age of Metals
had begun.
The Age of Metals began 4,000 years ago when humans started making metal
objects. The Age of Metals was a true milestone in human history because metal tools
were far more durable than stone tools. The Age of Metals is divided into the Copper
Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
THE COPPER AGE
The Copper Age, also known as the Chalcolithic Age, was a short period of
time between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. The Chalcolithic Age started from
4,000 BCE to 2,000 BCE. The word Chalcolithic is derived from the Greek words
“chalco” (copper) and “lithos”(stone). Copper was the first metal man discovered and
used.
During this period the art of smelting and molding copper was developed, and
stone and bone tools were now augmented by a limited supply of implements made of
this new substance. People used copper for everything, from nails to pans to roof tiles,
statues of gods.
Houses built by Chalcolithic farmers were constructed of stone or mudbrick.
Villages grew in size and were fortified. Grain storage and food preparation became
private rather than communal, as it was in the earlier villages.
Farmers typically raised domestic animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, and
pigs, a diet supplemented by hunting and fishing. Milk and milk by-products were
important, as were fruit trees (such as fig and olive). Crops grown by Chalcolithic
farmers included barley, wheat, and pulses. Most of the goods were locally produced
and used, but the Chalcolithic societies dabbled in some long-distance trade in figurines
of laden animals, copper and silver ores, basalt bowls, timber, and resins.
THE BRONZE AGE
The Bronze Age began around 3000 BCE in Mesopotamia and China and
around 2300 BCE in Europe. It was a time in early human history when people first
started using metal bronze. Bronze weapons were much stronger and more durable
than copper weapons. Some kings built armies and outfitted them with bronze spears,
arrows, swords, and shields. Metal workers and those who traded in metals were
probably the most important and wealthiest people in Bronze Age society. They
invented animal-drawn vehicles and began being used and the roads and trackways
were improved in the Bronze Age.
As the population grew, farming became more important as more food was
needed. Large areas of forests were cleared and the first proper fields were created.
The farmers could clear and till large fields by using bronze plough and bronze
socketed axes.There were a variety of tools that were made like flanged axes and
diggers. Bronze tools let early farmers bring better irrigation to their land, break apart
the hard soil, and greatly increase the productivity of their crops. By the Bronze Age,
wild food was no longer a main part of the diet. The title "inventors of agriculture"
might go to the Sumerians, starting from 5500 BC. In Sumer, barley was the primary
crop; wheat, flax, dates, apples, plums, vegetables and grapes were grown as well.
Because of agriculture, knowledge of astronomy, mathematics and the earliest writing
system, cuneiform, also developed during this period in Mesopotamia around 3500
BCE.
Two inventions unrelated to bronze also changed the face of farming forever. The
first of these is irrigation, or the process of using man-made canals and ditches to
divert water from natural sources or floodplains to fields for crops or to reservoir lakes to
use at a later time. The second change is the field system, which rotates the crops
planted in a number of fields to replenish nutrients in the soil.
The people in the Bronze Age lived in roundhouses that were circular structures
with a wattle (woven wood) and daub (mud and straw) wall or a dry stone wall. Some
houses had to be built on stilts as they were constructed on wetlands. They would have
a fireplace in the center of the house that would always be kept burning for warmth, light
and cooking.
Let's talk about some of the basic materials of Bronze Age clothing. For the first
time, people advanced from using just animal hides to cover themselves. During the
Bronze Age, both men and women wore long tunics with a covering over their tops.
These tunics were typically woven of wool or hemp. However, in China, because they
were able to domesticate silkworms, the wealthier wore silk garments. We also see the
first use of textile production in the Bronze Age. Leather was used as straps on clothes
and shoes. Most clothing was a dark color. People also wore hats, belts, and leather
shoes.
With the use of bronze people started using large blocks of stone called
megaliths to build monuments and statues. People in the Bronze Age built stone
circles made of standing stones called henges. Stonehenges in England was one of
the most famous monuments in the world. They also built new burial tombs that were
often found under small mounds called round barrows. Bronze, flints and stone tools
have been found in the burials and also amber and bone jewelry. As the Bronze Age
progressed, cremation became more common, with ashes being deposited in a small
pit or pottery urn, within an older or new barrow.
THE IRON AGE
The Iron Age was the crucial time period in the development of humanity. The
Iron Age was the time following the Bronze Age 1,000 BC to 450 AD. The Iron Age
began in 1500 BC in Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Greece. In India, it began at
1000 BC. The Iron Age did not occur in America because this was the New World and
had not yet been discovered.
Iron is a very effective metal and it was used in many innovations and inventions.
It is cheaper, lighter and stronger than bronze. It is also easier to find and produce. Lots
of tools and methods were invented and used during this time. Tools were commonly
made of steel and alloys.
Most people were farmers who used a variety of iron tools in tilling the land in
growing crops. They cleared the land for farming using iron axes. Farmers used an
“ard” (an iron-tipped plough) to turn over their fields. They were made of wood but had
an iron tip at the end of the plough to help it cut through heavy soil. They also had iron
harrows which were made roughly around 1,000 BC. This tool made farming and
ploughing easier due to the stronger tips that could easily plough the land. A number of
iron tools were developed too like sickles, shovels, spades, which helped them clear
the jungles for agriculture. Iron sickles were used to cut down the ripe crops with lesser
effort and at a great speed. The two main crops were wheat and barley. People were
able to grow peas, beans and flax too. The Iron Age also saw the invention of the
rotary quern. This machine helped to grind grains for flour and made the process much
quicker and easier for workers. The daily diets for most people in the Iron Age was a
combination of bread, porridge and stews.
People of the Iron Age lived in tribes ruled by chiefs, kings or queens. A big
change in the Iron Age was the development of hill forts. Hill forts were groups of
thatched houses built by the chiefs on hillsides to protect their villages from invasion.
These forts were surrounded by moats, walls and ditches. Warriors protected their
people from outside attacks. Inside the hill forts people lived in roundhouses (similar to
Bronze Age houses). The walls were made by using wood, straw and mud. Some
were very large and housed many people.
Apart from farming as the main occupation, cattle raising was also popular in
this age. People kept geese, goats, herds of cows and flocks of sheep. People also
worked as metal workers, carpenters, artists, and potters. The metal workers or
blacksmiths were the most important group in the Iron Age. They made strong swords
by hitting bars of iron over charcoal fire. Women in this age were skilled making
earthenware vessels for cooking and trading. The leader of the community had to train
for war and make sure that the men were always alert and ready for war.
Weapons like iron swords, spears, arrowheads, helmets, and shields began
to be made of iron. These weapons were stronger and more efficient. Military powers
that did not have iron swords that were using bronze swords were decimated by those
using iron. This allowed civilizations to be built and empires to rise.
With the discovery of iron, chariots were improved. Iron spokes and rims were
fitted into wooden wheels. This helped chariots to move faster. Another invention was
the iron rudder. It is used in a ship to make the ship stir on its own, basically by turning
a wheel the rudder will move and steer the ship in the direction. It was the first time that
ships used sails to take advantage of the force of the wind.
With the introduction of iron tools, production of food and other products
increased. Because of the inventions of sailboats and chariots, transport of goods was
made. Commerce and the trading of goods started to develop. This encourages trade
with other villages or towns. Coins began to be used so that buying and selling of crops
and iron tools could be easy. The first coins were made of iron. Later, silver and gold
coins were made. With improved techniques coins were made using a mixture of gold
and silver. When trade began cities were growing and people started changing their
lifestyle. Trade also changed society by creating social classes.
For more understanding of this lesson on “Metal Age” please visit the links below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcVBOd_atEw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QMlLsRS7vY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQsa-DFQ0tA