Editing Iron Age (section)

===Asia===

====Central Asia====
The Iron Age began in [[Central Asia]] with the [[Saka]], an [[Eastern Iranian]] people who lived in present-day [[Xinjiang]], between the 10th and the 7th centuries&nbsp;BC, attested at sites like the cemetery at Chawuhukou.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Hall | first=Mark E. | title=Towards an absolute chronology for the Iron Age of Inner Asia | journal=Antiquity | publisher=Cambridge University Press | volume=71 | issue=274 | year=1997 | issn=0003-598X | doi=10.1017/s0003598x00085781 | pages=863–874}}</ref>

The [[Pazyryk culture]] is an Iron Age [[archaeological culture]] ({{Circa|6th–3rd centuries&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}) identified by excavated artifacts and mummified humans found in the Siberian [[permafrost]] in the [[Altai Mountains]].

====East Asia====
{{further|History of metallurgy in China#Iron}}
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Dates are approximate
* {{color box|#f2d97f}}{{color box|#ffd880}} Prehistoric (or proto-historic) Iron Age {{color box|#cccccc}} Historic Iron Age
In China, [[Chinese bronze inscriptions]] are found around 1200&nbsp;BC, preceding the development of iron metallurgy, which was known by the 9th century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book|first =David N.|last = Keightley |title = The Origins of Chinese Civilization|page= 226|isbn = 978-0-520-04229-2|publisher= University of California Press|date = September 1983}}</ref> Iron metallurgy reached the [[Yangtze]] valley in the late 6th century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book |last =Higham|first= Charles|date= 1996|title =The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RZ-CV14nXHcC|publisher = Cambridge University Press|isbn= 978-0-521-56505-9}}</ref> The few objects were found at [[Changsha]] and [[Nanjing]]. The mortuary evidence suggests that the initial use of iron in [[Lingnan]] belongs to the mid-to-late [[Warring States period]] (from {{circa|350&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}). Important non-precious husi style metal finds include iron tools found at the tomb at Guwei-cun of the 4th century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book | title=Encyclopedia of World Art: Landscape in art to Micronesian cultures | publisher=McGraw-Hill | year=1964 }}</ref>

The techniques used in Lingnan are a combination of bivalve moulds of distinct southern tradition and the incorporation of piece mould technology from the ''Zhongyuan''. The products of the combination of these two periods are bells, vessels, weapons and ornaments, and the sophisticated cast.

An Iron Age culture of the [[Tibetan Plateau]] has been associated tentatively with the [[Zhangzhung culture]] described by early Tibetan writings.

{{anchor|Japan}}
In Japan, iron items, such as tools, weapons, and decorative objects, are postulated to have entered Japan during the late [[Yayoi period]] ({{circa|300&nbsp;BC|300&nbsp;AD|lk=no}})<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.t-net.ne.jp/~keally/preh.html|title = Prehistoric Archaeological Periods in Japan|first= Charles T. |last =Keally|website = Japanese Archaeology|date = 14 October 2002}}</ref> or the succeeding [[Kofun period]] ({{circa|250|lk=no}}{{snd}}538&nbsp;AD), most likely from the Korean Peninsula and China.

Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new pottery styles and the start of intensive rice agriculture in paddy fields. Yayoi culture flourished in a geographic area from southern [[Kyūshū]] to northern [[Honshū]]. The Kofun and the subsequent [[Asuka period]]s are sometimes referred to collectively as the [[Yamato period]]; The word {{tlit|ja|kofun}} is Japanese for the type of [[tumulus|burial mounds]] dating from that era.

{{anchor|Korea}}
[[File:Korea-Silla-Iron.armor-01.jpg|thumb|[[Silla]] chest and neck armour from the [[National Museum of Korea]] in [[Seoul]] (3rd century&nbsp;AD)]]

Iron objects were introduced to the [[Korean peninsula]] through trade with chiefdoms and state-level societies bordering the [[Yellow Sea]] during the 4th century&nbsp;BC, at the end of the [[Warring States period]], but before the beginning of the [[Western Han dynasty]].<ref name="kim">{{cite journal |last=Kim |first=Do-heon |year=2002 |title=Samhan Sigi Jujocheolbu-eui Yutong Yangsang-e Daehan Geomto |trans-title=A Study of the Distribution Patterns of Cast Iron Axes in the Samhan Period |journal=Yongnam Kogohak [Yongnam Archaeological Review] |issue=31|pages=1–29 |language=ko}}</ref><ref name="taylor">{{cite journal | last=Taylor | first=Sarah | title=The introduction and development of iron production in Korea: A survey | journal=World Archaeology | volume=20 | issue=3 | date=1989 | issn=0043-8243 | doi=10.1080/00438243.1989.9980082 | pages=422–433}}</ref> Yoon proposes that iron was first introduced to chiefdoms located along North Korean river valleys that flow into the Yellow Sea such as the Cheongcheon and Taedong Rivers.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Yoon | first=D. S. | title=Early iron metallurgy in Korea | journal=Archaeological Review from Cambridge | volume=8 | issue=1 | date=1989 | issn=0261-4332 | pages=92–99}}</ref> Iron production quickly followed during the 2nd century&nbsp;BC, and iron implements came to be used by farmers by the 1st century in southern Korea.<ref name="kim" /> The earliest known cast-iron axes in southern Korea are found in the [[Geum River]] river basin. The time that iron production begins is the same time that complex chiefdoms of [[Samhan|Proto-historic Korea]] emerged. The complex chiefdoms were the precursors of early states such as [[Silla]], [[Baekje]], [[Goguryeo]], and [[Gaya confederacy|Gaya]]<ref name="taylor" /><ref>{{cite book | last=Barnes | first=Gina Lee | title=State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives | publisher=Psychology Press | publication-place=Richmond, Surrey | date=2001 | isbn=0-7007-1323-9 }}</ref> Iron ingots were an important mortuary item and indicated the wealth or prestige of the deceased during this period.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Sung-joo |year=1998 |title=Silla&nbsp;– Gaya Sahoe-eui Giwon-gwa Seongjang |trans-title=The Rise and Growth of Silla and Gaya Society |publisher=Hakyeon Munhwasa |location=Seoul |language=ko}}</ref>

====South Asia====
{{main|Iron Age in India}}
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 from: -321 till: -200 text:[[Maurya Empire|Maurya]]

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Dates are approximate
* {{color box|#f2d97f}}{{color box|#ffd880}} Prehistoric (or proto-historic) Iron Age {{color box|#cccccc}} Historic Iron Age

The earliest evidence of [[iron smelting]] predates the emergence of the Iron Age proper by several centuries.<ref>{{cite journal|quote=the date of the beginning of iron smelting in India may well be placed as early as the sixteenth century BC ... by about the early decade of thirteenth century BCE iron smelting was definitely known in India on a bigger scale.  | last=Tewari | first=Rakesh | title=The origins of iron working in India: new evidence from the Central Ganga Plain and the Eastern Vindhyas | journal=Antiquity | publisher=Cambridge University Press (CUP) | volume=77 | issue=297 | year=2003 | issn=0003-598X | doi=10.1017/s0003598x00092590 | pages=536–544}}</ref>  Iron was being used in [[Mundigak]] to manufacture some items in the 3rd millennium&nbsp;BC such as a small copper/bronze bell with an iron clapper, a copper/bronze rod with two iron decorative buttons, and a copper/bronze mirror handle with a decorative iron button.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Kenoyer1999_Metal%20Technologies%20of%20the%20Indus%20Valley%20Tradition.pdf|title=Metal Technologies of the Indus Valley Tradition in Pakistan and Western India|website= Harappa|access-date=2019-01-03}}</ref> Artefacts including small knives and blades have been discovered in the Indian state of [[Telangana]] which have been dated between 2400 and 1800&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Rare-discovery-pushes-back-Iron-Age-in-India/articleshow/47322021.cms|title=Rare discovery pushes back Iron Age in India |website=The Times of India|date=18 May 2015 |access-date=2019-01-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rao|first=Kp|title=Iron Age in South India: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh|url= https://www.academia.edu/37685699|journal=South Asian Archaeology}}</ref> The [[history of metallurgy in the Indian subcontinent]] began prior to the 3rd millennium BC. Archaeological sites in India, such as Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila, Lahuradewa, [[Kosambi]] and [[Jhusi]], [[Allahabad]] in present-day [[Uttar Pradesh]] show iron implements in the period 1800–1200&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Tewari" /> As the evidence from the sites Raja Nala ka tila, Malhar suggest the use of Iron c.&nbsp;1800–1700&nbsp;BC. The extensive use of iron smelting is from [[Sonbhadra district|Malhar]] and its surrounding area. This site is assumed as the center for smelted bloomer iron to this area due to its location in the Karamnasa River and Ganga River. This site shows agricultural technology as iron implements sickles, nails, clamps, spearheads, etc., by c.&nbsp;1500 BC.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ranjan|first=Amit|title=The Northern Black Painted Ware Culture of Middle Ganga Plain: Recent Perspective|url= https://www.academia.edu/37049072|journal=Manaviki|date=January 2014}}</ref> Archaeological excavations in Hyderabad show an Iron Age burial site.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/iron-age-burial-site-discovered/article1335326.ece |work=The Hindu |title=Iron Age burial site discovered |date=2008-09-10 |author=K. Venkateshwarlu}}</ref>

However, reviewing the claims of early uses of iron during c. 1800-1000 BCE, archaeologist [[Suraj Bhan (archaeologist)|Suraj Bhan]] noted, "the stratigraphical context and chronology of iron is not beyond doubt" at these sites (namely Malhar, Dadupur, and Lahuradeva) — although "there is no doubt" that iron was being used in the Ganges Plains "a few centuries before the rise of urbanization [...] around 600 BCE".<ref>{{cite journal | last=Bhan | first=Suraj | title=North Indian Protohistory and Vedic Aryans | journal=Ancient Asia | year=2006 | volume=1 | pages=173–178 | doi=10.5334/aa.06115 | doi-access=free | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272715407}}</ref>

The beginning of the 1st millennium&nbsp;BC saw extensive developments in iron metallurgy in India. Technological advancement and mastery of iron metallurgy were achieved during this period of peaceful settlements. One ironworking centre in [[East India]] has been dated to the 1st millennium&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Drakonoff">{{cite book | last=Diakonoff | first=I. M. | title=Early Antiquity | publisher=University of Chicago Press | publication-place=Chicago | date=1991-08-27 | isbn=0-226-14465-8 | page=372}}</ref> In [[Southern India]] (present-day [[Mysore]]) iron appeared as early as 12th to 11th centuries BC; these developments were too early for any significant close contact with the northwest of the country.<ref name="Drakonoff"/> The Indian [[Upanishad]]s mention metallurgy.<ref>{{cite book | last=Olivelle | first=Patrick |authorlink=Patrick Olivelle | title=Upaniṣads | publisher=Oxford University Press | publication-place=Oxford New York | date=1998 | isbn=0-19-283576-9 | page=xxix}}</ref> and the Indian [[Mauryan]] period saw advances in metallurgy.<ref>{{cite book |authorlink1=John F. Richards|first1=J. F. |last1=Richards|first2=Gordon |last2=Johnson |authorlink3=Christopher Bayly|first3=Christopher Alan |last3=Bayly |year=2005 |title=[[The New Cambridge History of India]] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=64}}</ref> As early as 300&nbsp;BC, certainly by 200&nbsp;AD, high-quality steel was produced in southern India, by what would later be called the [[crucible steel|crucible technique]]. In this system, high-purity wrought iron, charcoal, and glass were mixed in a crucible and heated until the iron melted and absorbed the carbon.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Juleff | first=Gill | title=An ancient wind-powered iron smelting technology in Sri Lanka | journal=Nature | volume=379 | issue=6560 | date=1996 | issn=1476-4687 | doi=10.1038/379060a0 | pages=60–63 | bibcode=1996Natur.379...60J | url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v379/n6560/abs/379060a0.html }}</ref>

The protohistoric Early Iron Age in Sri Lanka lasted from 1000&nbsp;BC to 600&nbsp;BC. Radiocarbon evidence has been collected from [[Anuradhapura]] and Aligala shelter in [[Sigiriya]].<ref>{{cite web|first = Lahiru|last = Weligamage|year = 2005|url = http://www.lankalibrary.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1002|title = The Ancient Sri Lanka|website = LankaLibrary Forum|access-date = 10 October 2018|archive-date = 10 January 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200110221944/http://www.lankalibrary.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1002|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name=Deraniyagala>{{cite thesis| last=Deraniyagala | first=Siran Upendra | title=The prehistory of Sri Lanka: An ecological perspective | via=ProQuest | url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/f58bbe60f92ff62f46f6792d629d2d51/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Karunaratne |last2=Adikari |year=1994 |chapter=Excavations at Aligala prehistoric site |editor-last1=Bandaranayake |editor-last2=Mogren |title=Further studies in the settlement archaeology of the Sigiriya-Dambulla region |location=Sri Lanka |publisher=University of Kelaniya: Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology |page=58}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mogren |year=1994 |chapter=Objectives, methods, constraints, and perspectives|editor-last1=Bandaranayake |editor-last2=Mogren |title=Further studies in the settlement archaeology of the Sigiriya-Dambulla region |location=Sri Lanka |publisher=University of Kelaniya: Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology |page=39}}</ref> The Anuradhapura settlement is recorded to extend {{cvt|10|ha}} by 800&nbsp;BC and grew to {{cvt|50|ha}} by 700–600&nbsp;BC to become a town.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Allchin | first=F. R. | title=City and State Formation in Early Historic South Asia | journal=South Asian Studies | volume=5 | issue=1 | date=1989 | issn=0266-6030 | doi=10.1080/02666030.1989.9628379 | pages=1–16}}</ref> The skeletal remains of an Early Iron Age chief were excavated in Anaikoddai, [[Jaffna]]. The name "Ko Veta" is engraved in [[Brahmi script]] on a [[seal (insignia)|seal]] buried with the skeleton and is assigned by the excavators to the 3rd century BC. Ko, meaning "King" in Tamil, is comparable to such names as Ko Atan and Ko Putivira occurring in contemporary [[Brahmi]] inscriptions in south India.<ref>{{cite book | last=Intirapālā | first=Kārttikēcu | title=The evolution of an ethnic identity: the Tamils in Sri Lanka c. 300 BCE to c. 1200 CE
 | publisher=South Asian Studies Centre Sydney | publication-place=Colombo | date=2005 | isbn=0-646-42546-3 | page=324}}</ref> It is also speculated that Early Iron Age sites may exist in [[Kandarodai]], Matota, [[Pilapitiya]] and [[Tissamaharama]].<ref name=Deraniyagala/>

The earliest undisputed deciphered [[epigraphy]] found within the Indian subcontinent are the [[Edicts of Ashoka]] of the 3rd century&nbsp;BC, in the [[Brahmi script]]. Several inscriptions were thought to be pre-Ashokan by earlier scholars; these include the [[Piprahwa]] relic casket inscription, the [[Barli inscription|Badli pillar inscription]], the [[Bhattiprolu]] relic casket inscription, the [[Sohgaura copper plate inscription]], the [[Mahasthangarh]] Brahmi inscription, the [[Eran]] coin legend, the [[Taxila]] coin legends, and the inscription on the silver coins of [[Sophytes]]. However, more recent scholars have dated them to later periods.<ref>{{cite book |first=Dilip K. |last=Chakrabarty |title=India: An Archaeological History: Palaeolithic Beginnings to Early Historic Foundations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPQtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT356 |year=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-908814-0 |pages=355–356}}</ref>

====Southeast Asia====
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 from: -771 till: -221 shift:(0,5) text:[[Sa Huỳnh culture]]
 from: -221 till: 500 shift:(0,4) text:[[Óc Eo culture]]
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 from: -221 till: 500 shift:(0,-7) text:[[Imperial Vietnam]]

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 from: -771 till: -221 shift:(0,5) text:[[Sa Huỳnh culture|Sa Huyun culture]]
 from: -500 till: -108 text:[[Igorot society|Ifugao society]]
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Dates are approximate
*{{color box|#ffd880}} Prehistoric (or proto-historic) Iron Age {{color box|#cccccc}} Historic Iron Age
[[File:Lingling-o.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|Lingling-o earrings from [[Luzon]], Philippines]]
Archaeology in Thailand at sites Ban Don Ta Phet and Khao Sam Kaeo yielding metallic, stone, and glass artifacts stylistically associated with the Indian subcontinent suggest Indianization of Southeast Asia beginning between the 4th and 2nd centuries&nbsp;BC during the late Iron Age.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Glover|first1=I. C.|last2=Bellina|first2=B. |volume=2|issue=17|pages=17–45|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ni9AlOLTFZYC&pg=PA19|isbn=978-981-4345-10-1|year=2011|doi=10.1355/9789814311175-005|chapter=Ban Don Ta Phet and Khao Sam Kaeo: The Earliest Indian Contacts Re-assessed|title=Early Interactions between South and Southeast Asia}}</ref>

In [[Philippines]] and [[Vietnam]], the [[Sa Huynh culture]] showed evidence of an extensive trade network. Sa Huynh beads were made from glass, carnelian, agate, olivine, zircon, gold and garnet; most of these materials were not local to the region and were most likely imported. Han-dynasty-style bronze mirrors were also found in Sa Huynh sites. Conversely, Sa Huynh produced ear ornaments have been found in archaeological sites in Central Thailand, as well as the [[Orchid Island]].<ref>Higham, C. (2014). ''Early Mainland Southeast Asia''. Bangkok: River Books. {{ISBN|978-616-7339-44-3}}</ref>{{rp|211–217}}