An Experimental Investigation of Alternative Neolithic Harvesting Tools
Harvesting tools have seldom been found during excavations at Neolithic sites in North-Western Europe but cereal consumption was widely practiced in that region, as grain discovered in settlements showed. Several researchers have, over the last 50 years, highlighted this discrepancy between missing...
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2024-11-01
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| Online Access: | https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10774 |
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| author | Marc-Philipp Häg |
| author_facet | Marc-Philipp Häg |
| author_sort | Marc-Philipp Häg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Harvesting tools have seldom been found during excavations at Neolithic sites in North-Western Europe but cereal consumption was widely practiced in that region, as grain discovered in settlements showed. Several researchers have, over the last 50 years, highlighted this discrepancy between missing harvesting tools and the presence of cereal grains. They have tried to explain that cereals had therefore to be collected either with the help of bare hands or with tools made from other materials than flint. The aim of this paper is to present, through experimental archaeology and the analysis of use-wear traces, that tools made from organic material such as shell, wood and bone could have been used to harvest cereal plants. To achieve this aim, a large variety of experimental tools have been created and tested on fields of typical cereal types of the Neolithic, such as Triticum monococcum or einkorn wheat, Triticum dicoccum or emmer wheat, Triticum aestivum or naked wheat, and Hordeum vulgare or barley. The result of these experiments has been analysed quantitatively with regards to the achieved harvested surface, grain yield, and harvesting speed. Also, the use-wear traces on these tools as polish, striations, edge rounding, and edge damages created by these different cereal plants have been studied. The results could serve as reference to interpret unusual archaeological material differently in the future. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fdda2a08951b450fa13b265dccd5af1d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2212-8956 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | EXARC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | EXARC Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-fdda2a08951b450fa13b265dccd5af1d2025-08-20T03:39:08ZengEXARCEXARC Journal2212-89562024-11-012024/4ark:/88735/10774An Experimental Investigation of Alternative Neolithic Harvesting ToolsMarc-Philipp HägHarvesting tools have seldom been found during excavations at Neolithic sites in North-Western Europe but cereal consumption was widely practiced in that region, as grain discovered in settlements showed. Several researchers have, over the last 50 years, highlighted this discrepancy between missing harvesting tools and the presence of cereal grains. They have tried to explain that cereals had therefore to be collected either with the help of bare hands or with tools made from other materials than flint. The aim of this paper is to present, through experimental archaeology and the analysis of use-wear traces, that tools made from organic material such as shell, wood and bone could have been used to harvest cereal plants. To achieve this aim, a large variety of experimental tools have been created and tested on fields of typical cereal types of the Neolithic, such as Triticum monococcum or einkorn wheat, Triticum dicoccum or emmer wheat, Triticum aestivum or naked wheat, and Hordeum vulgare or barley. The result of these experiments has been analysed quantitatively with regards to the achieved harvested surface, grain yield, and harvesting speed. Also, the use-wear traces on these tools as polish, striations, edge rounding, and edge damages created by these different cereal plants have been studied. The results could serve as reference to interpret unusual archaeological material differently in the future.https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10774toolsfoodagricultureneolithic |
| spellingShingle | Marc-Philipp Häg An Experimental Investigation of Alternative Neolithic Harvesting Tools EXARC Journal tools food agriculture neolithic |
| title | An Experimental Investigation of Alternative Neolithic Harvesting Tools |
| title_full | An Experimental Investigation of Alternative Neolithic Harvesting Tools |
| title_fullStr | An Experimental Investigation of Alternative Neolithic Harvesting Tools |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Experimental Investigation of Alternative Neolithic Harvesting Tools |
| title_short | An Experimental Investigation of Alternative Neolithic Harvesting Tools |
| title_sort | experimental investigation of alternative neolithic harvesting tools |
| topic | tools food agriculture neolithic |
| url | https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10774 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marcphilipphag anexperimentalinvestigationofalternativeneolithicharvestingtools AT marcphilipphag experimentalinvestigationofalternativeneolithicharvestingtools |