Tamil Nadu has staked a claim to hosting the world’s earliest Iron Age after radiocarbon dating of burial urn samples in the state’s Tuticorin district revealed the use of iron as far back as 3,345 BCE, researchers said.
The findings, based on charcoal samples found alongside iron objects, suggest that the Iron Age in Tamil Nadu began over 5,300 years ago, at least 1,000 years earlier than previously estimated. Until now, the Hittite Empire in present-day Turkey, which used iron around 1,380 BCE, was believed to have pioneered the Iron Age.
The study, titled ‘Antiquity of Iron: Recent Radiometric Dates from Tamil Nadu’, was authored by researchers K Rajan and R Sivananthan. The findings place the southern Indian state as a significant early adopter of iron tools, rewriting the timeline of technological advancements.
On January 23, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin hailed the discovery, saying it solidifies the state’s historical significance. “We have scientifically established that iron was introduced 5,300 years ago in the Tamil landscape. The Iron Age began from Tamil land,” Stalin said while releasing the study. The results, researchers say, could redefine the global understanding of early iron usage, further highlighting the region’s prominence in ancient history.
