Did Africa have an Iron Age?
Some recent studies date the inception of iron metallurgy in Africa between 3,000 and 2,500 BCE. … The use of iron ushered in an Iron Age in Africa, with the expansion of agriculture, industry, trade, and political power.
Why did diverse cultures develop in Africa?
Why did diverse cultures develop in Africa? Because of trade, different beliefs and other advances in every civilization.
What was unusual about the West African Iron Age?
What was unusual about the west African iron age? it was a center of trade.
What was the importance of iron in the growth of African civilization?
Iron played a central role in many societies of early Africa. It held both spiritual and material power. Physically, Africans used iron to create tools for agriculture, utensils for everyday life, and weapons for protection and conquest (Shillington, 2012, p. 45).
What is Iron Age history?
The Iron Age was a period in human history that started between 1200 B.C. and 600 B.C., depending on the region, and followed the Stone Age and Bronze Age. During the Iron Age, people across much of Europe, Asia and parts of Africa began making tools and weapons from iron and steel.
What is the definition Iron Age?
Definition of Iron Age
: the period of human culture characterized by the smelting of iron and its use in industry beginning somewhat before 1000 b.c. in western Asia and Egypt.
How are the spread of ironmaking technology to east and south Africa and the Bantu migrations related? they are both in Africa. … If some culture is all about farming then they will migrate to a place with more arable land.
Why did African societies develop age set systems?
The age-set system serves many purposes in African societies. In the age-set system, young people create close ties with other individuals that are not part of their lineage. … Many societies, like the Igbo for example, use this system to teach discipline, community service, and leadership skills to the younger children.
What is the main source of info about early African cultures?
Archaeologists’ main source of information about early West African cultures has been from artifacts such as pottery, charcoal, and slag—a waste product of iron smelting. By dating these artifacts, scientists can piece together a picture of life in West Africa as early as 500 B.
What are the characteristics of Iron Age?
Characteristic of an Iron Age culture is the mass production of equipment and weapons made of steel, typically alloys with a carbon content between about 0.30% and 1.2% weight. Iron metallurgy, along with the ability to produce carbon steel, results in equipment or weapons that are equivalent or superior to brass.
What changes did the development of iron tools in West Africa bring?
what changes did the ability to make tools out of iron bring? farmers could clear land and grow crops more efficiently , then the greater abundance of food supported larger villages, where more people were free to work at other trades. … they could then trade their surpluses for goods they could not produce themselves.
When did Africa enter the Iron Age?
In sub-Saharan Africa, the Iron Age began sometime between 1000 and 550 BCE, and it began with the Nok people, a culture that sculpted elaborate terracotta figurines, farmed millet, and developed iron smelting.
What was the impact of the Iron Age?
Iron Age: Daily Life
All essentials were made or grown locally. The production of iron tools helped make the farming process easier and more efficient. Farmers could plow tougher soil, making it possible to harvest new crops and freeing time for more leisure.
How did the use of iron change farming in Africa?
This reflected on the West Africans dependence on the world for survival. How did the use of iron change farming? Iron blades allowed people to cut down trees and clear land for farms, this caused the population to grow. Also, a new gardening tool was made from iron.
What was the importance of iron works in West Africa around 600 BCE?
The fabrication of iron tools and weapons allowed for the kind of extensive systematized agriculture, efficient hunting, and successful warfare necessary to sustain large urban centers.