Reconstructing agricultural productivity in prehistoric societies remains a major methodological challenge. While archaeobotanical, palaeoecological, and agronomic models have provided important insights into landscape management and yield potential, the technological traces of harvesting itself have rarely been integrated into quantitative frameworks of agricultural productivity. In this study, we propose a novel method for estimating harvesting intensity and agricultural output based on the microtextural development of cereal use-wear on lithic harvesting tools. Using a long-duration experimental programme, 3D confocal surface measurements, and a reproducible analytical pipeline, we model the temporal evolution of cereal harvesting polish as a multi-phase tribological process. By explicitly linking micro-wear development to cumulative straw counts—rather than to elapsed working time—we introduce an experimentally grounded proxy for harvesting intensity. We further demonstrate how wear-derived estimates of cumulative harvesting can be tentatively translated into agronomically meaningful quantities, including harvested surface and grain output. Beyond its empirical application, this framework advances methodological theory by reconceptualizing harvesting tools as quantitative archives of cumulative work. The approach opens new avenues for integrating use-wear analysis into broader models of prehistoric subsistence economies, labour organisation, and long-term socio-ecological change.
A New Method for Estimating Prehistoric Agricultural Productivity Through the Microtextural Analysis of Harvesting Tools
Mazzucco, Niccolo
Primo
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
2026-01-01
Abstract
Reconstructing agricultural productivity in prehistoric societies remains a major methodological challenge. While archaeobotanical, palaeoecological, and agronomic models have provided important insights into landscape management and yield potential, the technological traces of harvesting itself have rarely been integrated into quantitative frameworks of agricultural productivity. In this study, we propose a novel method for estimating harvesting intensity and agricultural output based on the microtextural development of cereal use-wear on lithic harvesting tools. Using a long-duration experimental programme, 3D confocal surface measurements, and a reproducible analytical pipeline, we model the temporal evolution of cereal harvesting polish as a multi-phase tribological process. By explicitly linking micro-wear development to cumulative straw counts—rather than to elapsed working time—we introduce an experimentally grounded proxy for harvesting intensity. We further demonstrate how wear-derived estimates of cumulative harvesting can be tentatively translated into agronomically meaningful quantities, including harvested surface and grain output. Beyond its empirical application, this framework advances methodological theory by reconceptualizing harvesting tools as quantitative archives of cumulative work. The approach opens new avenues for integrating use-wear analysis into broader models of prehistoric subsistence economies, labour organisation, and long-term socio-ecological change.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
