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Composite Sickles and Cereal Harvesting Methods at 23,000-Years-Old Ohalo II, Israel - PubMed

  • ️Fri Jan 01 2016

Composite Sickles and Cereal Harvesting Methods at 23,000-Years-Old Ohalo II, Israel

Iris Groman-Yaroslavski et al. PLoS One. 2016.

Abstract

Use-wear analysis of five glossed flint blades found at Ohalo II, a 23,000-years-old fisher-hunter-gatherers' camp on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Northern Israel, provides the earliest evidence for the use of composite cereal harvesting tools. The wear traces indicate that tools were used for harvesting near-ripe semi-green wild cereals, shortly before grains are ripe and disperse naturally. The studied tools were not used intensively, and they reflect two harvesting modes: flint knives held by hand and inserts hafted in a handle. The finds shed new light on cereal harvesting techniques some 8,000 years before the Natufian and 12,000 years before the establishment of sedentary farming communities in the Near East. Furthermore, the new finds accord well with evidence for the earliest ever cereal cultivation at the site and the use of stone-made grinding implements.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1

a) Location map of Ohalo II. b) An aerial view of the site; the three loci where the glossed blades were found are marked.

Fig 2
Fig 2

Micrographs showing nearly ripe semi-green cereal (wild oat) wear polishes observed on experimental tools: a: developed polish produced by sickle harvesting for 2 hours; b: polish developed to a lower degree produced by cutting with a blade held by hand for 1 hour; c: cereal prehension wear observed on the blade held by hand for cutting the cereals. Original magnification at all micrographs is x200.

Fig 3
Fig 3. The five glossed blades from Ohalo II.
Fig 4
Fig 4

Artifact AJ39a with micrographs of the semi-ripe cereal use and prehension polish: a: general view showing the reticular distribution of the polish along the edge with arrows pointing at striations extending parallel to the axis of the blade indicating the longitudinal motion (x100); b: smooth and linked polish observed right on the edge fading into a reticular pattern towards the inner part of the blade with arrows pointing to comet shaped pits that indicate the uni-directional motion (x200); c: unmodified edge characterized by slight edge rounding and cereal prehension polish (x200); d: cereal use-wear polish observed on the broken edge indicating that the blade was used broken (x100); e: domed polish observed on the dorsal ridge indicating that it was exposed to the contact with the cereals (x200).

Fig 5
Fig 5

Artifact AL73c with micrographs of the semi-ripe cereal polish and hafting wear: a: polish developed to a low degree, brighter and reticular right on the edge (x100); b: smooth domed polish developed right on the edge (x200); c: a patch of flat bright spot observed on the dorsal ridge that might be an evidence to the contact with a haft (x200); d–e: polish on the opposite edge with identical characteristics indicating retooling (x200).

Fig 6
Fig 6

Artifact AJ39c with micrograph of the semi-ripe cereal polish and hafting wear: a: a reticular pattern with a relatively high degree of linkage between the polished surfaces (x100); b: streaks of dull rough polish associated with slight edge rounding interpreted to be produced by the contact with a haft (x100); c: reticular polish cut by the break indicating that the blade was broken after use (x100); d: linked and smooth polish developed on elevated points (x100); e: rough thin polish observed away from the developed linked polish fading gradually at the inner surface of the blade (x100).

Fig 7
Fig 7

Artifacts B86d with micrographs of the semi-ripe cereal use and prehension wear: a–b: cereal prehension wear observed on the distal area of the blade indicating the location of the grip (x100); c: cereal use-wear polish developed to a low degree observed on the dorsal face (x200); d: polish observed on the proximal extremity indicating that this part was exposed to the contact with the cereals (x100); e:same wear pattern on the opposite ventral face (x100).

Fig 8
Fig 8

Artifact C86c with micrographs of the semi-ripe cereal use-wear polish and prehension wear: a: cereal prehension wear similar in its characteristics to the cereal use-wear polish, observed all along the right lateral edge, surpassing the distal part to the opposite left lateral indicating the area in contact with the palm (x100); b-c: semi-ripe cereal use-wear polish developed to a low degree, characterized by a reticular distribution and domed polish that developed on protruding surfaces of the flint, with linked polished surface observed right on the edge (x200, x100).

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This work was funded by Israel Science Foundation (Nos. 831/00 and 711/08), Jerusalem Center for Anthropological Studies, L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, Stekelis Museum of Prehistory in Haifa, MAFCAF Foundation, National Geographic Society, and Israel Antiquities Authority.

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