Because iron is so hard to make, nobody used iron before about 1500 B.C. Then the Hittites in West Asia did learn how to use it. They quickly saw that iron weapins were better than bronze one, and so they decided not to tell anybody else how to make iron. The Hittites kept the secret of making iron for about 400 years!
When the Aryans invaded India, around 800 B.C, they brought the knowledge of how to make iron with them there. People who lived in China learned how to make iron by around 700 or 600 B.C, while by about 300 A.D; people in West Africa and East Africa had also learned the secrets of making iron.
Over the ages, iron has been treasured and treated with respect. In fact, some ancient people treasured iron more than gold! Iron jewellery was worn by only the wealthiest people, and in ancinet Rome, even wedding rings were made of iron! Though iron gradually became more easily available and cheaper, some tribes still considered it precious. In fact, in the 18th century, the famous explorer James Cook's men managed to exchange a rusty nail for a whole pig from a Polynesian tribe!
