While early iron wasn't better than bronze, over time, metalworkers came up with the techniques to make a superior product. The first of these involved how iron is obtained. To get the iron from the iron ore—that is, to separate the metal from the minerals — it needs to be heated at very high temperatures. Um, if I remember correctly, the melting point for iron is over 1500 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, the furnaces that metalworkers had back then just couldn't hit those temperatures. It wasn't until they improved their technology—made furnaces that could get extremely hot—that they were able to readily smelt iron ore. That was just one step forward for ironworkers. What you need to understand is that pure iron is pretty soft. In its pure state, it wasn't as durable as bronze. However, over time, ironworkers realized that by dissolving small amounts of carbon into iron, they could produce a substance that was significantly harder than iron: steel. This technique of diffusing carbon within iron is called carburization.