Ox and Plow in the Early Bronze Age Aegean

Abstract

Agricultural change was an important part of the overall social and cultural changes taking place in the Aegean during the Early Bronze Age. One hypothesized change is the introduction of new agricultural technologies such as the plow and traction, but evidence has been lacking. Excavations of the Early Bronze Age village on Tsoungiza Hill, Ancient Nemea, have produced fragments of terracotta figurines of oxen preserving a system of yokes. These figurines represent the earliest direct evidence for the plow and traction in the Aegean, and suggest one path to the establishment of elites in society in the Early Bronze Age Aegean.