The Sickle in Aboriginal Western North America

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Abstract
It is generally accepted that the specialized agricultural implements and techniques, and domesticated plants (with a few possible exceptions) of the Old and New Worlds are unrelated and independently developed. Parallel developments in agricultural accessories have occurred; the hoe and irrigation are obvious exemplars. The hand sickle, used to harvest cereal crops in the Old World, and to cut wild grasses in the New World, may now be pointed out as occurring in both hemispheres. The forms, materials, and function of the Old World sickle distinguish it from that of the New World, and it would appear that there is no specific connection between the Afro-Asian sickle used in farming and its North American counterpart used predominantly by incipient or non-agricultural native groups.

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