Agriculture of the Bronze Age and Village Communities

[Narration]
Now we have moved on to the attractive crescent-shaped stone knives.

[Tourist]
Stone knives! Were they used to stab something?

[Narration]
No, these were specially made for farming.

[Tourist]
Oh, they are so small!

[Narration]
They were made to be held in the hand. People of the Bronze Age ground the rounded part of stones to sharp edges to cut the ears of grains. They were designed to remove and separate every grain.

[Tourist]
They remind me of the painting, Les Glaneuses, by Millet. By the way, what are these holes in the middle?

[Narration]
The two holes were threaded with string to form a handle for holding the knife more securely.

Besides crescent-shaped stone knives, many different farming tools were used during the Bronze Age. Before bronze and iron farming tools were developed, wooden and stone tools were commonly used. However, as farming techniques developed, tools became more functional and elaborate.