【新编大学英语】（第一册）Unit 10 C 农业的历史（2/5）

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Primitive farming methods were very simple. Seeds were planted in little holes in the ground made with a sharp stick. Grain was harvested with stone knives or stone-edged sickles or sometimes pulled up by the roots. The invention of the spade and the hoe made it possible to cultivate the ground by loosening the soil and keeping down weeds. At first the work in the fields may have been done by women, while the men watched the animals, hunted occasionally, and defended the village against its enemies.
Domestic animals were first kept for hunting (such as dogs) or food (such as cows, sheep, and pigs). Eventually animals could be used to carry loads or pull plows which were little more than forked sticks used to loosen the soil. They were inefficient, but they made it possible to cultivate more land with less work than with hand tools.