This review synthesizes field research, textual analysis, and archaeometric data to evaluate different explanations for the spread of iron in the ancient Near East. Current evidence supports an Anatolian origin for extractive iron metallurgy on a limited scale sometime in the early 2nd millennium BC. However, the first major expansion of iron, both in Anatolia and across the wider Near East, occurred in the late second and early first millennium BC. Explanations that place iron adoption within its broader social context are favored over those that consider material or geological properties in isolation. A recurring theme is the importance of comparative analysis, both geographically and between the iron and bronze economies, to explore how social, political, and economic conditions affected adoption patterns.

中文翻译：

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古代近东铁的创新与采用

这篇综述综合了实地研究，文本分析和考古数据，以评估对古代近东地区铁扩散的不同解释。目前的证据表明，在公元前2世纪初期的某个时候，安纳托利亚人在有限的规模上从事提取铁冶金。但是，铁的首次大规模扩张发生在安纳托利亚和整个近东地区，都发生在公元前第二个千年末和一个早期。将铁的采用置于其更广泛的社会环境中的解释优于那些单独考虑材料或地质特性的解释。一个反复出现的主题是，在地理上以及在铁与青铜经济体之间进行比较分析的重要性，以探讨社会，政治和经济状况如何影响采用模式。