Editing Sickle (section)

== History ==
=== Pre-Neolithic ===
[[File:The Oldest Sickle, Flint & Resin, Tahunian Culture, c. 7000 BC.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|A very early sickle, c. 7000 BC, flint and resin, [[Tahunian culture]], [[Nahal Hemar]] cave, now in the [[Israel Museum]].]]
The development of the sickle in Mesopotamia can be traced back to times that pre-date the Neolithic Era. Large quantities of sickle blades have been excavated in sites surrounding Israel that have been dated to the [[Epipaleolithic]] era (18000–8000 BC).<ref name="Unger-Hamilton">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1080/00438243.1985.9979955 |last=Unger-Hamilton |first=Romana |title=Microscopic Striations on Flint Sickle-Blades as an Indication of Plant Cultivation: Preliminary Results |journal=World Archaeology |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=121–6 |date=July 1985}}</ref> Formal digs in Wadi Ziqlab, Jordan have unearthed various forms of early sickle blades. The artifacts recovered ranged from {{convert|10-20|cm|abbr=on}} in length and possessed a jagged edge.

This intricate ‘tooth-like’ design showed a greater degree of design and manufacturing credence than most of the other artifacts that were discovered. Sickle blades found during this time were made of [[flint]], straight and used in more of a sawing motion than with the more modern curved design. Flints from these sickles have been discovered near Mt. Carmel, which suggest the harvesting of grains from the area about 10,000 years ago.<ref name="Banning-E.B.">{{Cite journal |doi=10.2307/3210656 |last=Banning|first=E.B.|title=The Neolithic Period: Triumphs of Architecture, Agriculture, and Art |jstor=3210656|journal=Near Eastern Archaeology |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=188–237 |year=1998|s2cid=164006022}}</ref>

=== Neolithic ===
[[Image:Museum Quintana - Neolithische Sichel.jpg|thumb|left|upright|250px|Neolithic sickle]]

The sickle had a profound impact on the [[Neolithic Revolution|Agricultural Revolution]] by assisting in the transition to farming and crop based lifestyle. It is now accepted that the use of sickles led directly to the domestication of Near Eastern Wild grasses.<ref name="Unger-Hamilton"/> Research on domestication rates of wild cereals under primitive cultivation found that the use of the sickle in harvesting was critical to the people of early [[Mesopotamia]].

The relatively narrow growing season in the area and the critical role of grain in the late [[Neolithic|Neolithic Era]] promoted a larger investment in the design and manufacture of sickle over other tools. Standardization to an extent was done on the measurements of the sickle so that replacement or repair could be more immediate. It was important that the grain be harvested at the appropriate time at one elevation so that the next elevation could be reaped at the proper time.<ref name="Banning-E.B." /> The sickle provided a more efficient option in collecting the grain and significantly sped up the developments of early agriculture.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1086/203718 |last=Unger-Hamilton |first=Romana |title=The Epi-Palaeolithic Southern Levant and the Origins of Cultivation|journal=Current Anthropology |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=88–103 |year=1989|s2cid=143186819 }}</ref>

===Bronze Age===
The sickle remained common in the [[Bronze Age]], both in the [[Ancient Near East]] and in [[Bronze Age Europe|Europe]]. Numerous sickles have been found deposited in [[hoard]]s in the context of the European [[Urnfield culture]] (e.g. [[Frankleben hoard]]), suggesting a symbolic or religious significance attached to the artifact.{{CN|date=October 2024}}

In archaeological terminology, Bronze Age sickles are classified by the method of attaching the handle. E.g. the knob-sickle (German ''Knopfsichel'') is so called because of a protruding knob at the base of the blade which apparently served to stabilize the attachment of the blade to the handle.<ref>Christoph Sommerfeld: ''Gerätegeld Sichel. Studien zur monetären Struktur bronzezeitlicher Horte im nördlichen Mitteleuropa'' (Vorgeschichtliche Forschungen Bd. 19), Berlin/New York 1994 {{ISBN|3-11-012928-0}}, p. 157.</ref>

===Iron Age===
[[File:1255 - Keramikos Museum, Athens - Iron tool - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 12 2009.jpg|thumb|[[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] iron sickle, [[Kerameikos]] Archaeological Museum, Athens.]]
The sickle played a prominent role in the [[Druid|Druids']] [[Ritual of oak and mistletoe]] as described from a single passage in [[Pliny the Elder]]'s ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'':
{{cquote|A priest arrayed in white vestments climbs the tree and, with a golden sickle, cuts down the mistletoe, which is caught in a white cloak. Then finally they kill the victims, praying to a god to render his gift propitious to those on whom he has bestowed it. They believe that mistletoe given in drink will impart fertility to any animal that is barren and that it is an antidote to all poisons.<ref>Pliny the Elder. Natural History XVI, 95.</ref>}}

Due to this passage, despite the fact that Pliny does not indicate the source on which he based this account, some branches of [[Druidry (modern)|modern Druidry]] (Neodruids) have adopted the sickle as a ritual tool.{{Cn|date=March 2021}}

=== Americas ===
[[File:Sickle and throwing knife at Manchester Museum.jpg|thumb|Congolese sickle, or [[Trumbash]], (left) and replica throwing knife (right) at [[Manchester Museum]].]]
Indigenous sickles have been discovered in southwest [[North America]] with unique design. There is evidence that Kodiak islanders had for cutting grass "sickles made of a sharpened animal shoulder blade".<ref name="Heizer-Robert"/> The artifacts found in present-day [[Arizona]] and [[New Mexico]] resemble curved tools that were made from the horns of mountain sheep.{{Cn|date=March 2025}}

A similar site discovered sickles made from other material such as the Caddo Sickle, which was made from a deer mandible. Scripture from early natives document the use of these sickles in the cutting of grass. The instruments ranged {{convert|13-16|in|abbr=on}} from tip to haft.{{Cn|date=March 2025}} Several other digs in eastern Arizona uncovered wooden sickles that were shaped in a similar fashion. The handles of the tools help describe how the tool was held in such a way so that the inner portion that contained the cutting surface could also serve as a gathering surface for the grain. Sickles were sharpened by scraping a shape beveled edge with a coarse tool. This action has left marks on artifacts that have been found. The sharpening process was necessary to keep the cutting edge from being dulled after extended use. The edge is seen to be quite highly polished, which in part proves that the instrument was used to cut grass.

After collection, the grass was used as material to create matting and bedding.<ref name="Heizer-Robert">{{Cite journal |doi=10.2307/276785 |last=Heizer|first=Robert F.|title=The Sickle in Aboriginal Western North America |jstor=276785|journal=American Antiquity |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=247–252 | year=1951|s2cid=161405622 }}</ref> The sickle in general provided the convenience of cutting the grass as well as gathering in one step. In modern times, the sickle is being used in [[South America]] as tool to harvest rice. Rice clusters are harvested using the instrument and left to dry in the sun.<ref name="Works-Martha">{{Cite journal |doi=10.2307/214125 |last=Works|first=Martha A.|title=Aguaruna Agriculture in Eastern Peru |jstor=214125|journal=Geographical Review |volume=77 |issue=3 |pages=343–358 | year=1987}}</ref>