Bernard Gassin

Harvest time: crop-reaping technologies and the Neolithisation of the Central Mediterranean

Neolithic societies were defined by the development of agricultural economies not only because part of their diet was obtained from cultivated plants, but also because crop-husbandry practices strongly affected peoples lifestyles in a variety of ways. It is therefore unsurprising that the development and diffusion of agriculture can be studied from diverse perspectives and with different approaches, by analysing, for example, the macro- and micro-botanical remains of fruits and grains for morphometric and taxonomic variation (Colledge & Conolly 2007) and genetic history (Mascher et al. 2016). Conversely, agriculture can be indirectly assessed through its impact on the environment and subsequent landscape modifications (Zanchetta et al. 2013; Mercuri 2014). Yet another approach explores crop-husbandry practices as reflected in changing technology. New agricultural tasks required the adaptation of existing technologies and the adoption of new tools and practices, including querns, millstones and other grain-grinding equipment, as well as artefacts and structures for grain storage, cooking and processing.

Use-Wear Analysis on Flint Tools. Beyond the Methodological Issues

During the last decade of use-wear analyses, flint has been one of the most studied raw materials within lithic assemblages. In this section, it is impossible to cover in detail all the methodological and interpretative issues that have been created and developed for this raw material in recent years. Thus, in this chapter, we focus on a very brief methodological introduction, mainly regarding the interpretative results from use-wear studies from some Palaeolithic and Neolithic assemblages. We are aware that most questions are described lightly, but it is our goal that this chapter work as a link to the specific literature.