History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c24.s1.3

v1.c24.s1.3

Digging stick, hoe and spade are the most ancient tillage implements (Singh, pp. 39-46). Digging sticks with weights made of stone are reported from Mehrgarh, Chirand, Langhnaj, Inamgaon, Ahar and Nevasa since neolithic times. Stone hoes are also evidenced at neolithic sites of Mehrgarh, Burzahom, Jatkara (Khajuraho) and Naga and Sadiya hills of Assam, but none made of either bone or wood has been reported so far. Hoe is the most simple, multipurpose tool for any agricultural community. Though we cannot rule out the possibility of hoes being made of copper or bronze in the second millennium B.C., no single specimen has been recovered.