greengerg asks: Iron and bronze?

Thoughts on the possible contradictions in the history of old Westeros, in terms of how the “Iron” Islands and Ironborn fit with the claims of the First Men having a solely bronze technology and the Andals bringing in usage of iron? Or is this a deliberate obfuscation by the author? Was the iron the Andals introduced actually steel? If the Iromborn and Kings of Winter in the Age of Heroes used iron, why did the Royces and other southron First Men stick to bronze?

That’s a good point. Steel vs. iron is one way to reconcile it and the WOIAF is a bit inconsistent about that. Another possibility is that the Kings of Winter adapted their crowns to include iron after capturing the technology from the Andals during Theon’s wars? (Maybe they captured some blacksmiths on his raid on Andalos?) 

Now it’s possible that the pre-Andal Ironborn had the secret of iron because there was just so much of it around – hence the legends of Balon Blackskin – but the mainlanders didn’t until the Andals arrived. Or maybe they’re just reading their later history backwards, since a lot of Ironborn history is legends and oral tradition.