Time Team
A farmer's life for me;
a tale of farming in the New Stone Age era
My grandfather and his brothers cleared this land long before I was born. I remember their stories of back-breaking work, cutting through bushes and chopping down trees. They used not only flint tools to clear the land, but axes with heads of polished stone which night after night they would smooth until each had a sharp, straight edge, perfect for cutting through wood.
Even with their carefully crafted axes, sometimes the dense woods would prove too much for my grandfather's generation. He told me that the land I work now is rich and fertile because the last of the biggest trees and bushes were cleared by burning.
By striking two pieces of flint together he would start a fire in the same way I do today, letting the sparks set the grass alight. What we have learned over generations is that the ashes left after burning are a great fertiliser for our much-needed crops.
Now my sons and I grow wheat here and I have my own grandchildren to teach the skills of farming, just as my grandfather taught me. I show even the littlest ones how to turn over the soil. It is funny to watch them struggle with the old digging stick which is bigger than they are, and they marvel at how their fathers and I have learned to swing the sharp end into the ground using the weight of the stone tied to the stick to force it into the soil.
We are lucky to have a couple of hoes made from antlers that make a great job of turning the soil over, ready to be planted. The wheat that we harvest is ground with a round stone rubbed back and forth on top of a flat stone. The meal is good and filling, but the little flakes of stone left in it from the grinding process is, doubtless, the reason I have few teeth left as most have been ground down to the gum! Although some years our crop of wheat can be good, we never forget that the wild land around us provides for us well with nuts and berries.
Our people have also brought animals onto our land and we now have tame sheep, cattle and goats to keep us supplied with meat when the hunting of wild animals fails. As well as tending these animals, my grandchildren have much to learn about our way of life.
Their parents and I must show them how to use the precious clay in our soil to make our bowls for storing food. We press coils of clay together and smooth them into rounded bowls which then harden in the fire. Already the children have learned to make their mark on their family's pottery and will add little designs to the bowls made by their elders.
Their tiny patterns made with wood, bone or even an ear of corn are baked into the bowls as they harden in the fire, ensuring that the new generation have made a lasting mark on our way of life. Who knows what stories these little clay bowls might tell over time?