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The Invention of the Plow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2009

Frederic L. Pryor
Frederic L. Pryor
Affiliation:
Swarthmore College
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Extract

The plow is one of those seminal inventions which has transformed history; unfortunately, we have little archaeological evidence about its origins. We believe that the plow existed 4,000 years ago in both ancient Sumar and Egypt, but we do not know when it was first introduced, or where, or by whom. It arrived in human history without fanfare and was an integral part of complex technological and social systems by the era from which we have first evidence of its presence.

Type
Explanations in Economic History
Information
Comparative Studies in Society and History , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , October 1985 , pp. 727 - 743
Copyright
Copyright © Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History 1985

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