Wild cereal harvesting ca. 14,000 years ago at Jeftelik (Western Syria)

The harvesting of wild cereals with sickle blades during the Late Epipalaeolithic Natufian period (ca. 14.6–11.5 ka cal BP) is widely documented; however, the scale and methods of sickle harvesting remain poorly understood. This study examines plant-harvesting activities through the functional analysis of glossed lithic tools from the Early Natufian site of Jeftelik (Western Syria), dated to ca. 14,000 years ago. Twelve sickle blades recovered from secure Natufian contexts were analysed using confocal microscopy and three-dimensional surface texture analysis. Their surface textures were compared with an experimental reference collection, including tools used to harvest wild cereals in natural stands on the one hand and tools used to cut other siliceous plants, such as reeds and grasses, on the other. The results indicate that most glossed tools were used for harvesting wild cereals, although the processing of other siliceous plants was also identified. Tool-level analysis shows that five implements were primarily used for harvesting wild cereals, one mainly for cutting reeds or grasses, and six display mixed plant-processing signals. Estimates of use intensity suggest generally moderate-to-long harvesting episodes of wild cereals: two tools exhibit intermediate use, between 10 and 20 hours, whereas three tools show evidence of more prolonged use, for more than 20 hours. Glossed sickle blades represent only a small proportion of the lithic assemblage at Jeftelik (ca. 1%). These results indicate that, although wild cereals were harvested at Jeftelik sometimes with relatively high use intensity—sickle harvesting was not a frequently performed activity. Two interpretations can be proposed: either wild cereals were not intensively exploited, or, more likely, they were an important resource, but methods other than sickle harvesting were also employed. Wild cereal harvesting likely formed part of a broader and flexible exploitation system, in which cereals were collected using multiple techniques, including reaping with sickles during periods when intensified resource acquisition was required.