Wheat farming: harvest and threshing

In the Stone Age, humans used flint to cut down crops. This flint tool was used for harvesting.

The sickle, made up of a curved metal blade and a handle, appeared during the Bronze Age. It was used for harvesting crops until the medieval period.

Sickle harvesting is done by grasping a sheaf (handful of wheat grasses) in the left hand, and cutting with the scythe using the right hand. Harvester's gauntlets or finger cots were used to protect the free hand.

The scythe is a much later invention. Use of this tool became more widespread in the 19th century. It allowed harvesters to complete their work more quickly.

Harvesters carry a whetstone sheath around them, made of wood, horn, or metal, which contains the stone used to sharpen the scythe.

The earliest form of mechanical harvester, the vallus, belonged to the Gauls. It reaped ears of wheat by means of metal teeth protruding out of two wheels. The reaped ears then fall into an open container.

Wheat would be struck, or threshed, by the flail to loosen the grain from the ear of the plant. This manual technique remained the most common threshing method until the 19th century.

In the past, the winnowing process—which involves separating the grain from its husk and removing impurities—was done with a winnowing basket. The basket would be shaken up and down and left to right to remove dust and debris.

Mechanical winnowers took over from the 17th century onward. These machines consist of a ventilator and sieves, and can be operated manually or by a motor.

Once the grain is winnowed, the wheat grain is stored in containers, which have evolved over the course of civilizations.

Wicker baskets, known to some French farmers as boundes, always come with a lid. They are used to conserve grain, bran, or dried fruits. They are widely used in Provence.

From the 19th century onward, mechanical threshing took over from the flail. Cogwheel-activated manual threshers with an integrated winnowing system began to appear in the second half of the 19th century. Models then appeared which were activated by steam engines. In the 20th century, the combine harvester came to replace them.

Across Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries, corn dollies, crosses and crowns (with "corn" meaning "grain" here) have been symbols of the end of the harvest season and were believed to bring happiness and prosperity to crop-growers.