Evolution of Harvesting Technology: A Study of Diversity from Lithic and Botanical Remains in Neolithic Iberia (8th-7th millennium cal. BP)

Abstract

Pioneer farming groups arrived in the Iberian Peninsula in the first half ofthe eighth-millennium cal. BP. Since then, the spread of new populations continued, and the highly diverse material culture of the Neolithic has been interpreted as a reflection of multiple origins and as the regionalisation that followed. In the past few decades, the study of different lithic tools has served to explore cultural Neolithic patterns. In particular, changes in harvesting technology have provided helpful information about the diffusion of Neolithic groups, proposing possible transfers in technology or even cultural adaptation to agricultural changes as explanatory factors for subsequent shifts. Here, we investigate how the initial diversity in harvesting technology changes or remains over time and in different regions according to crop harvesting preferences. Also, we test whether the diversity of harvesting tool dynamics is related to technological factors. Thus, we characterise the crops, blade production, and harvesting tools associated with different areas from 7600 to 6400 cal. BP on a large and refined chrono-cultural scale. As a result, we confirm that using one sickle type is independent of the crop harvested, and at le ast until the Middle Neolithic, we observe that it does not limit the incorporation ofthe new agricultural system into the region. By including glossy and no glossy blade measurements in the analysis, we discard the effects of technological limitations as an obstacle for replicating the parallel type in those contexts where it is not documented. Moreover, we found significant differences between the coefficients of variation in blade samples inserted differently, likely influenced by the hafting system. Whenever possible, we discuss how this adapts to blade production. Incorporating a filter in selecting the sample in favour of dated assemblages made it possible to situate these patterns on a comparative scale of two hundred years through the entire time framework.