Archaeologists have uncovered three wooden sickles in Italy that date back roughly seven millennia, offering a vivid glimpse into early agricultural life. The discovery, reported within the N+1 framework, highlights a pivotal moment when tools designed for gathering wild plants began to take on new functions as communities shifted toward cultivation. These early instruments illustrate a transitional phase—one where humans experimented with plant resources well before full-scale farming became the norm.
The emergence of what might be termed agricultural implements predates formal farming by millennia. The earliest sickles appeared before the last ice age, more than 23,000 years ago, and were used to collect wild vegetation. Over time, many of these wild plants were domesticated, setting the stage for the broader agricultural revolution. The Italian finds reflect this long arc of invention and adaptation, showing how simple tools evolved to support productive landscapes and steady food supplies.
At the La Marmotta archaeological site, the team led by Niccolo Mazzucco of the University of Pisa, along with colleagues from international institutions, recovered three wooden sickles preserved in good condition. The site has been dated to the Early Neolithic period, roughly 7570 to 7165 years ago, a time when communities were beginning to pivot from hunting and gathering toward more settled farming lifestyles. While sickles have been found in various contexts before, these particular artefacts provide rare, well-preserved evidence from a key transitional phase in human history.
The sickles feature stone inserts tailored for grass cutting, known as microlites. These tiny, efficient blades were practical because they did not require highly specialized stones shaped into specific forms. The artefacts themselves are notably shorter than many other ancient implements, underscoring how early tools were adapted to local needs and available materials. Microscopic analysis of wear patterns indicates that all three sickles experienced use, suggesting that inhabitants of the La Marmotta settlement employed them for consistent plant gathering and processing, leaving tangible marks on the stone inserts that researchers can read today.
Beyond the tool construction, micro-remnant analysis reveals important evidence about early agricultural activity. Wheat and barley traces were found on two of the sickles, confirming their role in grain harvesting. The third tool yielded a surprising concentration of pollen from plants within the genus Omezhnik, or oenanthe, which may carry medicinal or psychoactive properties depending on species. Such findings hint at a nuanced understanding of plant resources among Neolithic communities and point to a broader spectrum of plant use that extended beyond staple crops to include medicinal and possibly ritual applications. Observations of wear and residue help researchers reconstruct daily practices at La Marmotta, offering a window into how early farmers integrated plant collection, processing, and cultivation into a developing livelihood system.
Another historical note underscores the enduring curiosity about sickles in ritual and symbolic contexts. In a separate Polish context, archaeologists have identified a burial where a sickle was placed near the throat, a detail often interpreted as a protective or symbolic measure connected to beliefs about death and the afterlife. While this finding lies outside the La Marmotta record, it reflects a wider cultural pattern in which tools associated with harvest and harvest-related rituals appear in burial contexts, underscoring the deep connections between everyday technology and belief systems in ancient communities.