Knapped lithic tools used in agricultural activities from the Neolithic site of La Vaquera (Segovia)

La Vaquera Cave is located at the centre of the Iberian Peninsula (Segovia). The cave was occupied by the first groups of farmers settling down in the area, during the late 6th millennium cal BC. In this paper, we study the lithic tools which were used for cereal harvesting and processing. The characteristics of these agricultural tools are compared with those coming from other Early Neolithic sites, which have been previously analyzed. The pattern of geographical distribution of the different sickle types is explained in the context of the spread of agriculture in the Western Mediterranean region.La Cueva de la Vaquera constituye un contexto arqueológico de una riqueza excepcional. Entre las distintas ocupaciones documentadas nos detenemos en las pertenecientes a las primeras sociedades agricultoras y ganaderas del Neolítico antiguo. En este trabajo nos centramos en el estudio del utillaje lítico y en concreto en los caracteres morfológicos de las hoces empleadas en actividades de siega y procesado de los cereales. La información obtenida la contextualizamos en el marco de los inicios del Neolítico en la Península Ibérica en relación a los primeros instrumentos agrícolas