A functional study of ground stone knives and sickles in the Lower Yangtze River Region during the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age

Ground stone knives and sickles were important implements in the lower Yangtze River region during the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, playing a pivotal role in understanding the technological behaviour and economic activities of prehistoric humans. In this study, twelve knives and seven sickles of the Liangzhu culture (ca. 3300BC–2300BC) and four knives of the Maqiao culture (ca. 1900BC–1200BC) were analysed, through an integrated approach that combined use-wear analysis, Py-GC/MS analysis, and replicative experimentation. The results show that three knives and one sickle of the Liangzhu culture and two knives of the Maqiao culture had been used for harvesting gramineous plants, probably rice. The knives of the Liangzhu culture were used with handles, exhibiting two different hafting techniques, one of which potentially involved the use of animal glue as binding agents. The half-moon-shaped knives of the Maqiao culture were used handheld with two working motions: upward picking and downward pinching. Besides harvesting tools, one hafted knife of Liangzhu culture used for scraping wood or bamboo was also identified. Notably, for the first time, evidence of polishing stone knives with gramineous plants has been found in both the Liangzhu and Maqiao cultures, which potentially signifies a special symbolic or ritual significance beyond their physical functions.