Prehistoric Flint Sickles

Abstract

So much interest was aroused by my recent paper on ‘Prehistoric Agriculture’ in vol. I of ANTIQUITYth, at it may be worth while to expand and add to what was there said on the subject of flint sickles. The most comprehensive study of the subject comes from the pen of M. André Vayson de Pradenne whose paper must first be reviewed.The author sets out by describing an almost perfect example of a flint sickle, consisting of five carefully worked flakes set in an L-shaped wooden mount, discovered some years ago in a peat-bog at the foot of the hill of Solferino, near the Lago di Garda in North Italy (fig. I). After describing its characteristics and discussing its purpose, he reviews all the other known specimens from Europe and Africa, and finally discusses their types and distribution.