"The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity."
Study of how people lived during the Iron Age; including their social organization, economic patterns, politics and religious beliefs.
Agricultural Practices: The methods and techniques used by Iron Age people to cultivate the land and raise crops.
Archaeological Evidence: The physical remains of past human activities, such as buildings, tools, and artifacts, that provide clues about Iron Age settlement patterns.
Climate and Environmental Factors: The impact of natural elements such as water, soil, topography, and weather on Settlement Patterns.
Economic Systems: The organization and distribution of resources such as food, goods, and services that facilitate the development of Iron Age settlements.
Ethnic Groups and Migration: The movement of people, their culture and traditions, and the manner in which it influenced the development of Settlement Patterns.
Political Organization: The governmental structures of Iron Age societies, which had an impact on the type and shape of settlements.
Social Structure: The hierarchies of social roles and relationships between people, which also influenced Settlement Patterns.
Technology and Innovation: The impact of technological advancements on Iron Age settlements, such as metalworking, irrigation, and road-building.
Trade Networks: The systems of exchange through which Iron Age societies acquired and distributed goods and resources.
Urbanization and Ruralization: The relationship between agrarian and urbanize societies, their growth and expansion, and how they shaped Settlement Patterns.
Hillforts: Fortified settlements built on hills or high ground for defense purposes.
Open-settlement: Small and scattered settlements with no fortified walls or boundaries.
Oppida: Large fortified settlements at key locations, serving as major economic and political centers.
Ring forts: Circular or oval-shaped fortified structures, often with a central raised platform.
Crannogs: Fortified settlements built on artificial islands in lakes or marshes.
Brochs: Round stone towers with thick walls, built for defense and living quarters.
Linear settlements: Settlements along a road or river.
Roman Military settlements: Fortified camps built by the Roman army during conquests.
"It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age."
"The concept has been mostly applied to Iron Age Europe and the Ancient Near East."
"The 'Iron Age' begins locally when the production of iron or steel has advanced to the point where iron tools and weapons replace their bronze equivalents in common use."
"The discovery of iron smelting and smithing techniques was invented in Anatolia, the Caucasus or Southeast Europe in the late 2nd millennium BC (c. 1300 BC)."
"This transition took place in the wake of the Bronze Age collapse, in the 12th century BC."
"The technology soon spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin region and to South Asia (Iron Age in India) between the 12th and 11th century BC."
"Its further spread to Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe is somewhat delayed."
"Northern Europe was not reached until around the start of the 5th century BC."
"The Iron Age is taken to end, also by convention, with the beginning of the historiographical record."
"For the Ancient Near East, the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire c. 550 BC is traditionally and still usually taken as a cut-off date."
"In Central and Western Europe, the Roman conquests of the 1st century BC serve as marking for the end of the Iron Age."
"The Germanic Iron Age of Scandinavia is taken to end c. AD 800, with the beginning of the Viking Age."
"The Iron Age is taken to begin with the ironworking Painted Grey Ware culture."
"Recent estimates suggest that it ranges from the 15th century BC, through to the reign of Ashoka in the 3rd century BC."
"The use of the term 'Iron Age' in the archaeology of South, East, and Southeast Asia is more recent and less common than for Western Eurasia."
"In China, written history started before iron-working arrived, so the term is infrequently used."