DOI Artikel:
Editorial
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.48998#0216
EDITORIAL
This fourth number marks the end of the first
volume of Tools and Tillage, and it is a
matter of satisfaction to see that the objectives
of the journal are being realised. In seeking to
give a world-wide scope to the journal, the edi-
tors have made contacts with scholars in many
places, with results that can already be seen in
the published articles.
In this wide context some ideas may be sug-
gested for future action. Jiro linuma refers to
early Chinese writers on agriculture, and it would
be a matter of great importance for comparison
with our Greek and Roman authors, if transla-
tions of these sources could be made in a Euro-
pean language. In a recent visit to India, one of
the editors (Axel Steensberg) was privileged to
observe plough-marks of the Harappa period
(2300-1700 B.C.) in excavations undertaken by
Dr. B. B. Lal. These are very early, and must
make us re-think our ideas about the wide spread
of ard cultivation in early times. No doubt many
such traces will be discovered in the course of
excavations outside Europe in the future. Equal-
ly, such a spread means that it is of correspond-
ingly greater importance to study the cultivating
equipment of the Middle and Far East, in seek-
ing lines of possible origin and development, and
relationship between hoe, spade and plough
within their appropriate milieux. It is the policy
of Tools and Tillage to seek to stimulate
its readers into thinking about their immediate
problems against such a broad backcloth.
The journal is not only concerned with culti-
vating equipment, but also with agricultural pro-
cesses. The cutting of grain with sickles or reap-
ers has been examined for some areas, and sow-
ing methods in India have also been considered.
More material of this nature is required, for all
agricultural processes form part of a series of
integrated activities. The nature of the crop sown
may affect the form of the plough and the draught
harness of the team; the need for weeding and
the nature of the harvesting equipment will be
related to the layout of the crop on the ground,
in fields, and the work-force will be organised to
match these conditions. We wish, therefore, to
try to build up the material in the journal in such
a way as to demonstrate the constant integration
of these most basic processes of grain growing,
cutting and initial processing.
In all of these activities, the need for precise
recording and observation cannot be over-em-
phazised. It is, of course, part of the scientific
approach to systematise and classify, but even
here a strong critical faculty has to be main-
tained. A well worn plough-share may look quite
different from a new one, though both were the
same at the start. An iron blade may not always
be a plough-share. Only by constant and critical
study, keeping the mind open for alternatives,
can a sound scientific basis eventually be achieved
for interpreting the relics of the past. With this in
mind, a survey of early and medieval plough parts
(primarily of iron) is being undertaken by two of
the editors (Grith Lerche and Alexander Fenton)
and it is hoped eventually to publish a corpus of
all such finds as a basis on which subsequent stu-
dies can build for either the early or later periods.
Contributions to the survey can be published
from time to time in the Notes and Comments
section. The editors would also welcome contri-
butions to this section from readers who have
knowledge of new finds or discoveries, to help
the journal to keep up-to-date with the news,
whether the emphasis is archaeological, philolo-
gical, ethnological, or in some other way related
to the subject. Readers are also reminded that
the International Secretariat for Research on the
History of Agricultural Implements issues a News-
letter from time to time, obtainable free on re-
quest. When a subject warrants extended discus-
sion, or needs immediate attention, the News-
letter can be used for this purpose. The Notes and
Comments section of Tools and Tillage can
then be kept free for the publication of information
about the raw materials of scientific research.
This fourth number marks the end of the first
volume of Tools and Tillage, and it is a
matter of satisfaction to see that the objectives
of the journal are being realised. In seeking to
give a world-wide scope to the journal, the edi-
tors have made contacts with scholars in many
places, with results that can already be seen in
the published articles.
In this wide context some ideas may be sug-
gested for future action. Jiro linuma refers to
early Chinese writers on agriculture, and it would
be a matter of great importance for comparison
with our Greek and Roman authors, if transla-
tions of these sources could be made in a Euro-
pean language. In a recent visit to India, one of
the editors (Axel Steensberg) was privileged to
observe plough-marks of the Harappa period
(2300-1700 B.C.) in excavations undertaken by
Dr. B. B. Lal. These are very early, and must
make us re-think our ideas about the wide spread
of ard cultivation in early times. No doubt many
such traces will be discovered in the course of
excavations outside Europe in the future. Equal-
ly, such a spread means that it is of correspond-
ingly greater importance to study the cultivating
equipment of the Middle and Far East, in seek-
ing lines of possible origin and development, and
relationship between hoe, spade and plough
within their appropriate milieux. It is the policy
of Tools and Tillage to seek to stimulate
its readers into thinking about their immediate
problems against such a broad backcloth.
The journal is not only concerned with culti-
vating equipment, but also with agricultural pro-
cesses. The cutting of grain with sickles or reap-
ers has been examined for some areas, and sow-
ing methods in India have also been considered.
More material of this nature is required, for all
agricultural processes form part of a series of
integrated activities. The nature of the crop sown
may affect the form of the plough and the draught
harness of the team; the need for weeding and
the nature of the harvesting equipment will be
related to the layout of the crop on the ground,
in fields, and the work-force will be organised to
match these conditions. We wish, therefore, to
try to build up the material in the journal in such
a way as to demonstrate the constant integration
of these most basic processes of grain growing,
cutting and initial processing.
In all of these activities, the need for precise
recording and observation cannot be over-em-
phazised. It is, of course, part of the scientific
approach to systematise and classify, but even
here a strong critical faculty has to be main-
tained. A well worn plough-share may look quite
different from a new one, though both were the
same at the start. An iron blade may not always
be a plough-share. Only by constant and critical
study, keeping the mind open for alternatives,
can a sound scientific basis eventually be achieved
for interpreting the relics of the past. With this in
mind, a survey of early and medieval plough parts
(primarily of iron) is being undertaken by two of
the editors (Grith Lerche and Alexander Fenton)
and it is hoped eventually to publish a corpus of
all such finds as a basis on which subsequent stu-
dies can build for either the early or later periods.
Contributions to the survey can be published
from time to time in the Notes and Comments
section. The editors would also welcome contri-
butions to this section from readers who have
knowledge of new finds or discoveries, to help
the journal to keep up-to-date with the news,
whether the emphasis is archaeological, philolo-
gical, ethnological, or in some other way related
to the subject. Readers are also reminded that
the International Secretariat for Research on the
History of Agricultural Implements issues a News-
letter from time to time, obtainable free on re-
quest. When a subject warrants extended discus-
sion, or needs immediate attention, the News-
letter can be used for this purpose. The Notes and
Comments section of Tools and Tillage can
then be kept free for the publication of information
about the raw materials of scientific research.