Iron Age agriculture

Iron Age agriculture marked a significant advancement in farming techniques and tools, largely due to the use of iron for plows and other implements. This era, roughly from 1200 BCE to 600 CE, saw communities transitioning to more efficient methods of cultivation, enabling them to farm larger areas. Crops such as wheat, barley, and legumes became staples, while livestock raised for meat, milk, and labor was common. The increased productivity led to population growth, trade expansion, and the establishment of permanent settlements, laying the groundwork for complex societies and economic systems that followed.