Re: [tied] First iron swords on mass scale

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michal Milewski" <milewski@...>
To: <cybalist@egroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2000 10:22 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] First iron swords on mass scale


There were quite extensive contacts between early Anatolian
Greeks and Hittites and (especially) Luwians. Words and
technology may be borrowed separately, so Anatolian
ironworking could influence Greek metallurgy even if the
word for 'iron' came from a different source.

I'm sure the Greeks were also influenced by Scythian
metallurgy; they certainly imported Scythian iron (Skuthe:s
side:ros).

Iranians and Cimmerians (who learnt iron metallurgy from the
peoples of the Caucasus) also played an important role as
intermediaries who contributed to the introduction of iron
to Central Europe (not only in the form of arrowheads).
Early Celtic iron manufacturers certainly assimilated a good
deal of steppe influence.

As for Phrygian, the corpus of is so meagre that I doubt if
the word 'iron' occurs there at all.

Piotr


> What does it mean in context of the first experience of
> Greeks with iron? Does it suggest that there was no early
> (pre 1200 BC) contact between Greeks (Dorians) and Hittite
> Empire, and that Hittites did not contribute directly to
> Doric metallurgy? What was the name for "iron" in
Phrygian?