Prehistoric Flint Sickles: Farming Tools In The Neolithic

[@jimv.661]

Thank you. That was an enjoyable mini-course.

[@KelvynTaylor]

Fascinating as always!

[@LuxisAlukard]

Those sickles look so nice. I wouldn't want to use them every day, but they are cool. One made of antler even looks little bit scary, like something neolithic Grim Reaper could use =)

[@tpxchallenger]

Excellent demonstrations.

[@nightlyshift]

Thank you! this was very enlightening, about much more than its ostensible subject.

[@flaviendaguise7120]

This is amazing!

[@markgibbons2108]

Brilliantly explain very interesting hope it use in school and collage for teaching history

[@DaveTalksDogs]

Maybe a stretch, but couldn't the sickles have first been made for harvesting grass for grass goods? Sleeping mats, clothing, structures, all commonly made from grass or grass-like plants. It seems plausible to me the tools could pre-date or even have precipitated the use of the cereal grains- maybe even accidentally replanting the seeds at the site of work and starting the cycle that way

[@janetmackinnon3411]

Thank you ! Interesting and instructive.

[@ObjectHistory]

Very interesting!

[@mattmatty4670]

Cool thanks mate

[@stefflus08]

Very nice. The multiblade sickle should be stacked the other way so the straw doesn't snag on the side of the blades as you pull the tool towards you.

[@PsychicIsaacs]

Dr Bruce Pascoe in Australia has uncovered evidence of Australian Aborigines using ploughs to till soil and plant crops. The noted early Australian explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell also observed these grain fields and they were enormous!

[@warrendargusch5873]

Some other researchers found evidence that very early occupants of Australia..perhaps 150000 years ago..had made simple nuclear reactors for use in tractors for ploughing these grainfields. The implications are enormous...wheels, gears, steam mastery, mining, complex understanding of physics, soil fertility etc. I think there is evidence for poetry, art and litery drama here also.

[@80krauser]

@@warrendargusch5873 I believe they jointly developed those reactors with Wakandan scientists

[@warrendargusch5873]

@@80krauser Yeah..nuclear dreaming!

[@missourimongoose8858]

I found one of these blades around st louis last year

[@fabricio-agrippa-zarate]

A very common tradition among many paleolithic and neolithic people is the fact that each individual should male his or her own tools. The fact that there are so many types of stone sickles is that everyone was manufacturing them as they could, based on their own abilities.

[@ingeniousmechanic]

Mostly, but I'd make one for my cousin, or he wouldn't get any work done. He kinda dense anyway

[@mr.bulldops7692]

What did you use for glue? Bitumen or is it something else?

[@fabricio-agrippa-zarate]

A common form of glue in North America and Europe would be birch resin, and more often than none you will find pieces of crystalized resin stuck on the bark. Take it and put it into a container close to the fire, so it will melt but keep an eye for it is highly flammable. Once is melted, pick some of the carbon that formed from the burnt coals and mix it with the resin.

[@mr.bulldops7692]

@@fabricio-agrippa-zarate thank you so much! This was awesome insight.

[@ancientcraftUK]

We have evidence of birch bark glue being used in prehistory, we actually have some prehistoric glue shells on the AncientCraft shop with some more info if you fancy taking a look!

[@garychynne1377]

interesting. thank yew

[@qwertz70329]

Hah, I remember you from Milo. Subscribed. Greetings from Germany!

[@peterinbrat]

They also needed thatch for roofs.

[@anthonybueno4440]

They where still used during the Bronze Age, bronze was expensive at the time

[@HeyNonyNonymous]

Not "may". Have stored them. The natufian culture stored wild grains.

[@DynamoExplorer]

What about the Epipalaeolithic Natufian culture in Levant which shows a possible cultivation of grains while maintaining a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, or are you being Euro centric when it comes to agriculture? I do like your video as it is informative but I find it going back and forth a bit and containing off topic parts - grinding grains when you are talking about sickles. You make too many general assumptions due to condensing such a large subject, it would be nice if a bibliography could be provided for all of your points.

[@ancientcraftUK]

I definitely take your points on board, it’s hard to make videos on such a broad topic that fit into ten minutes. It’s also hard to make them enjoyable for all audiences regardless of academic background or prior knowledge. I don’t want the videos to become too cluttered with references as these are not archaeological conference abstracts. Worth noting too that we make these videos during our weekend time, and are not paid to do so. As I said though, I take your points on board.

[@MrBottlecapBill]

My opinion as someone who loves to eat is that no culture would have gone full agriculture only........not until animals were also domesticated. A pure grain diet is a lot of work, not the healthiest and seriously risky. One crop failure and you die. Hunting would never be abandoned until animals were domesticated or fishing perfected to fill that source of calories.

[@MikaelDryden]

Heh. "The agricultural revolution and it's consequences have been disastrous for mankind"

[@ancientcraftUK]

Wouldn’t disagree with you there!

[@simonphoenix3789]

why did they bother cutting these crops instead of just pulling them out?

[@elhmmm5282]

You never take care of your garden right?

[@WildBearFoot]

Why don't you just pull up your yard instead of mowing it?

[@simonphoenix3789]

@@WildBearFoot because we have lawnmowers, which require far less effort. Or even if I was using a sickle or a scythe, its a metal blade that doesn't need to be sharpened after a few minutes of use and is still faster than pulling things out. Now go try that with a stone sickle and see how long it takes before you are sawing away at each handful.