An Observation And Study On Neolithic Stone Plows Unerathed In The Eastern Taihu Lake Area

Stone implement is one of most commom artifacts unearthed from the Neolithic sites,as an important production tool,it played an important role in the social production and life at that time.Through the analysis and study of the unearthed stone implements,we can detect the livelihood mode,the development level of productivity and culture of prehistoric society.The research object selected in this paper is Neolithic stone ploughs unearthed in the eastern Taihu lake area,as an important agricultural production tool,stone plough can greatly improve the efficiency of agricultural production,marking the great progress of the development level of productivity.Through the analysis and research of the stone plough,we can understand the agricultural production mode and the development level of productivity of prehistoric humans,and then have a deeper understanding of the material basis for the operation of prehistoric society.In Neolithic sites of eastern Taihu lake area,stone plough earliest appeared in the late Songze period.Then it appeared in Liangzhu Cluture,Qianshanyang Culture,Guangfulin Culture and even the Maqiao Culture of Bronze Age.It provide abundant archaeological data for the analysis and study of stone plows.The basic form of stone plough is:flat,isosceles triangle shape,blades on both sides,one to three holes generally,arranged in a straight line or triangular distribution.Stone ploughs are large,medium and small in size.The largest number are medium and small ploughs,large ploughs began to appear in Liangzhu Culture.Stone plough's job object is paddy,if the paddy area is too small,stone plough can not put to good use and could not continuously breaking forward.It would lose the significance as a kind of advanced agricultural production tool.Therefore,stone plough and paddy area have closely relationship.In Neolithic sites of eastern Taihu lake area,ancient paddies have been discovered in Majiabang Culture,Songze Culture,Liangzhu Culture and Guangfulin Culture.It provide rich archaeological data for the study on relationship between stone plough and paddies.According to the current archaeological discoveries,the paddies of Majiabang Culture are smaller,up to a maximum of ten square meters,generally only a few square meters.Hundreds square meters of paddy began to appear in Songze period.During the period of Liangzhu Culture,paddy area to further expand,the largest block area has reached 2000 square meters and continuous distribution in a wide range.Therefore,there is a change in the development process of the paddies from small to large,which provides a background for the emergence and shape of the stone plough.At present,there are still some disputes about the use and function of the stone plough.Some people even deny the possibility of using it as a stone plough.The qualitative analysis of this type of triangular-shaped stone implements directly relate to the origin of the plow agriculture,and also relate to the understanding of the development level of productivity of the prehistoric society,so it is of great significance.Previous studies have mostly concentrated on the morphological analysis and research of stone plough.With the help of experimental archaeology,through entirely artificial imitate stone ploughs unearthed in archaeological sites and ethnological materials to determine the method of installation and using,then conducted cultivated experiment,to verify the feasibility of use as stone plough.At the same time,using high power microscope to observe the use-wear on the surface of the stone plough,focusing on the blade edge position.Compared with the changes before and after use,in order to understand the influence of the cultivated land on the stone plough.The cultivated land experiment using two small imitated stone ploughs are successful.They completely have the practicality of arable land.The large imitated stone plough,due to lack of experience in the production and installation of the use,shortly was broken.The experimental result was not satisfied,therefore looking forward to the next step of improvement and experiment.Through the experiment of cultivated land,it can be concluded that Neolithic triangular-shaped stone implements unearthed in eastern Taihu lake are stone ploughs.They can used to plough the fields,and continuously breaking forward.They are important tools for the production of agriculture.The appearance of stone plough marks the progress of the level of prehistoric agricultural productivity.It improves the efficiency of agricultural production,and enters the stage of "Ploughing agriculture",which lays a solid material foundation for the development of prehistoric society.