The Harvest of Our Fathers: harvesting techniques in the Mediterranean Neolithic

Neolithic farming practices have been mainly addressed from the analysis of the archaeozoological and archaeobotanical records. These studies have highlighted variability in the type of cultivated plants and domesticated animals since the early phases of Neolithic; as result, different agricultural and pastoral systems have been suggested for the Mediterranean area. However, the technical aspects associated with these practices have been little investigated until now. How technologies and know-how were adapted to farming needs? Did a variability of techniques exist since the beginnings of Neolithic? How tools evolved through time and what information can be drawn about farming practices? In this presentation we will provide some examples of how harvesting technologies evolved during the course of Early and Middle Neolithic in the Central Mediterranean .Changes in crop-reaping tools will be discussed considering the technological aspects of lithic production and the available archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data