The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Copper and Bronze Ages. It has also been considered as the final Age of the three-age division starting with prehistory and progressing to protohistory. In this usage, it is preceded by the Stone Age and Bronze Age. These concepts originated for describing Iron Age Europe and the Ancient Near East, but they now include other parts of the Old World.
Willamette Meteorite, the sixth largest in the world, is an iron-nickel meteorite.
Copy of The Warrior of Hirschlanden (German: Krieger von Hirschlanden), a statue of a nude ithyphallic warrior made of sandstone, the oldest known Iron Age life-size anthropomorphic statue north of the Alps.
Maiden Castle, Dorset, England. More than 2,000 Iron Age hillforts are known in Britain.
A sword of the Iron Age Cogotas II culture in Spain.
The Chalcolithic was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in different areas, but was absent in some parts of the world, such as Russia, where there was no well-defined Copper Age between the Stone and Bronze ages. Stone tools were still predominantly used during this period.
Chalcolithic copper mine in Timna Valley, Negev Desert, Israel
A painting of a Copper Age walled settlement, Los Millares, Spain