The advent of iron Robert Downes

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Downes, Robert (Of University of Oxford), author.

Series:

Cambridge elements. Elements in archaeological perspectives on materials and technologies

Cambridge elements. Elements in archaeological perspectives on materials and technologies 2754-2939

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Iron--Metallurgy--History.

Iron.

Iron age--Middle East.

Iron age.

Iron--Metallurgy.

Middle East.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2026

Summary:

"Before the latter half of the 2nd millennium BCE, smelted iron was virtually unknown in the Near East. Yet by the turn of the millennium iron had already begun to displace copper alloys across the region. This Element will explore the extent to which this phenomenon may have arisen as a consequence of technological developments within preceding traditions for the extraction of copper from its ores. It presents a new approach incorporating a reappraisal of current knowledge with a series of integrated experiments to reveal the frequency of iron extraction during the copper smelting practices of the Late Bronze Age Near East. Armed with these insights the author seeks to address how iron metallurgy may have developed from existing extractive traditions and the implications this has for our wider understanding of technological change within past cultures"-- Cambridge Core

Contents:

The advent of a technology

Iron in context

Iron in practice

Iron in perspective

Iron in theory

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references

Online resource; title from PDF title page (Cambridge Core, viewed May 11, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version Downes, Robert (Of University of Oxford) Advent of iron

ISBN:

9781009551472

1009551477

OCLC:

1579216852

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license