Stones that Made Food. A Lithic Viewpoint on Food Production Practices in the Early Mediterranean Neolithic

Abstract

Food gathering and production are daily and fundamental activities for the reproduction and development of human societies, now and in the past. Food practices are deeply embedded in social, cultural, environmental and technological settings. During prehistory, for example, the most important changes in lithic technology were linked to the appearance of new techniques for obtaining food: more effective, requiring less time and fewer raw materials or simply better suited to the environmental and cultural framework. With the transition towards a farming economy, new food practices appeared, which gave rise to new skill sets, technologies and knowledge. This article focuses on the flaked stone tools of the Early Mediterranean Neolithic and their use for the obtainment of foodstuffs from both vegetal and animal resources. In particular, this article concerns the stone tools and techniques associated with hunting, animal slaughter and butchering, as well as with crop harvesting tasks. How were those tools made and how were they used? Were those tools crucial for food production? What factors influenced their geographical and chronological variability? What can we learn about early farming societies and their economic organization by studying them?