The Beginning and Spread of Iron Working and Farming: Form 1 History notes

25SCHOOLS FREE LEARNING NOTES FOR ZAMBIA FORM 1 The Beginning and Spread of Iron Working and Farming History Lesson notes for learners · Competence-Based Curriculum Farming and tools before iron How iron was made How iron working and farming spread Stone tools compared with iron tools The impact of iron technology on farming Check yourself INSIDE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 25schools.com · Notes, quizzes and lesson plans for Zambian learners Iron working is the skill of getting iron out of rock and shaping it into tools and weapons. Farming is growing crops and keeping animals for food. In Zambia you meet both every day: the hoe and the axe in the field are iron tools, and most families in the country depend on farming for food. AFTER THESE NOTES YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO Explain what iron working is and how iron was made and shaped in early times Describe how iron working and farming spread across Africa and into Zambia Compare stone tools and iron tools Analyse the impact of iron technology on farming Explain how iron technology changed settlement and life in a community KEY WORDS iron technology the knowledge and skills used to make iron and turn it into tools smelting heating rock that contains iron (iron ore) in a very hot fire until the iron separates from the rock iron ore rock found in the ground that contains iron forge to heat iron until it is soft, then hammer it into shape smith a skilled person who makes iron tools and weapons bellows a tool for pumping air into a fire to make it hotter charcoal burnt wood that gives a very hot fire surplus more food than a family needs for itself 1 Farming and tools before iron The earliest people in Africa did not farm. They hunted animals and gathered wild fruits, roots and honey. Later, people learnt to plant crops and keep animals. This change is called the beginning of farming. Early farmers used tools made of stone, wood and bone. Stone tools were heavy and could break. They were slow to use for cutting trees or digging hard soil. Because of this, early farmers could only farm small pieces of land, usually where the soil was soft and the bush was thin. Small fields on poor soil gave little food, and a field grew less each year as the soil lost its goodness. When this happened, a family often had to leave and clear a new patch elsewhere. So early farming communities were small and moved from place to place. • • • • • Form 1 History Lesson notes 25schools.com Page 2 of 6 2 How iron was made Iron does not lie ready to use. It is found inside rock called iron ore. The smith had to take the iron out of the ore, and this needed a very hot fire. The smith first made charcoal. He burnt wood slowly in a covered pit or heap, because charcoal gives a much hotter fire than ordinary wood. Charcoal-making and digging the ore were separate jobs, and both had to be done before the smelting. Then he did the smelting. The ore and charcoal were put in a clay furnace. Bellows pushed air into the fire so that it became very hot. The heat made the iron separate from the rock. The smith then forged the iron. He heated it again until soft, put it on a stone, and hammered it into the shape he wanted: a hoe, an axe, a knife, a spear or an arrowhead. Last, he cooled the new tool in water and sharpened its edge on a stone so that it could cut well. Iron working was a skill that took years to learn, so smiths were respected people in the community. Figure 1. Two jobs come before smelting: digging the ore and making charcoal. After smelting, the iron is forged and finished. 3 How iron working and farming spread Iron working and farming did not appear everywhere at once. They spread slowly as people moved and met others. Farming communities that knew iron working moved from one area to another, looking for good soil, water …