Knapped Tools for Obtaining Food Resources in the Origins of Farming in the Near East

In the Near East, the Fertile Crescent was the area where the economic, social and ideological changes representing the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer to sedentary farming societies first appeared, between 12300 and 7000 BC. Knapped flint and obsidian tools underwent complex technological changes, reflecting the important social transformations that occurred during this transition. In this article, we provide an overview of the current state of knowledge of the lithic tools used in food procurement and processing during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in the Near East, focusing on three tool categories: sickles, projectile weapons and butchering knives. We explain how the transition to farming, with new economics needs, affected the characteristics of knapped tools and how the process of production, provision and use of tools was organized in a society in continuous change.