Raw materials, technology, and innovation

Abstract

The ascendancy of iron as the main metal in Iron Age Europe was accompanied by important innovations in the working and manufacture of many other raw materials, both inorganic and organic, from salt to stone. In many areas, traditional small-scale processing for domestic use gave way to mass production for a wider market. This was made possible by the mastery of high-temperature processes and the introduction of new techniques, among them the fast potter’s wheel, double-chambered kilns for pottery firing, and soldering. Cooperation between craftworkers specializing in different trades was often the basis for new products and developments. At the same time, intensification of contacts and trade with the Mediterranean world introduced not only new materials, such as glass and enamel, but also standardized size and weight systems, and coinage. Many new types of artefact are found for the first time, including tools, and musical and medical instruments.