Development of Instrument and Technology of

Stone Age and Iron Age

IRON AGE

The Stone Age marks a period of prehistory in which humans used primitive stone tools. Lasting roughly
2.5 million years, the Stone Age ended around 5,000 years ago when humans in the Near East began
working with metal and making tools and weapons from bronze.

Hammerstones are some of the earliest and simplest stone tools.

Prehistoric humans used hammerstones to chip other stones into
sharp-edged flakes. They also used hammerstones to break apart
nuts, seeds and bones and to grind clay into pigment.

The Wheel is another example of technology from the Stone Age.

Early humans used this to move more quickly through the use of
chariots and other wheeled vehicles

Flint Knapping is a technique that early humans used to shape

stones for the creation of tools. Stones such as flints, and other flaky
stones, can be shaped by chipping the flakes away to create an edge.
 Atlatl is a tool that allows humans to throw
spears farther and faster. The animals hunted
by early humans were strong and dangerous.
The atlatl helped to give people an edge.

Bow and Arrow was a very useful tool during

stone age. It allows human to kill their foods
from longer ranges, helping to keep them safe.
This discovery made hunting much easier and
safer.

IRON AGE

The Iron Age was a period in human history that followed the Bronze and Stone Ages. During the Iron
Age, people across much of Europe, Asia and parts of Africa began making tools and weapons from iron
and steel. The Iron Age started between 1200 B.C. and 600 B.C., depending on the region. For some
societies, including Ancient Greece, the start of the Iron Age was accompanied by a period of cultural
decline.

The Plough (called an Ard or Scratch plough) pulled by oxen making

cultivation of heavy clay soils possible. The Ard was made primarily
from wood with an iron tip to penetrate the ground, but it did not have
mould boards or large blades used on more recent European ploughs
to turn the soil over. Large wooden and iron machines pulled by
animals or humans.

Battersea Helmet is the only Iron Age helmet to have ever been
found in southern England. It is very unlikely this helmet was made
to be used in war, as the thin metal would be too fragile for use in
battle.
 Wood Lathes were used to make a wide variety of objects such
as buckets, bowls, bracelets and wheel spokes. Evidence
suggests that lathe-turned wood vessels were made in Britain
before wheel-turned pots.

Potters Wheel introduced during the Iron Age was

wheel thrown pottery Before the middle Iron Age
pottery was made by hand from pinch pots, coils or
paddle and anvil. This meant the pot wall could vary in
thickness by some way. Wheel thrown pots were
generally far more even and symmetrical and could
have a smooth surface easily.

Claudine Juan

BSIT- 1C2

STS