The Birth of the Farmers

[Narration]
Now we will take a look at the crescent-shaped stone knives. These knives were used for farming. The Neolithic people ground and sharpened the stones to cut the ears of grain. In fact, they were designed to remove and separate every grain.

[Tourist]
They remind me of Millet’s painting, The Gleaners. The women in the painting were so focused on removing every precious grain. 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 securely.

During the Bronze Age, many other farming tools were employed besides crescent-shaped stone knives. Wooden and stone tools were generally used until they were superseded by bronze and iron farming tools. As farming techniques developed, tools became more functional and elaborate.

Let’s look at some of the other tools.