Adigging stick, sometimes called ayam stick, is a wooden implement used primarily bysubsistence-based cultures to dig out underground food such as roots andtubers,tilling the soil,[1] orburrowing animals andanthills. It is a term used inarchaeology andanthropology to describe similar implements, which usually consists of little more than a sturdystick which has been shaped or sharpened and sometimes hardened by being placed temporarily in a fire.[citation needed]
Fashioned with handles for pulling or pushing, it forms a prehistoricplough, and is also described as a type ofhoe.[2]Digging sticks more than 170,000 years old, made ofboxwood byNeanderthals, have been found in Italy.[3]
InMexico and theMesoamerican region, the digging stick was the most important agricultural tool throughout the region.[4][5]
Thecoa stick normally flares out into a triangle at the end and is used for cultivatingmaize. It is still used for agriculture in some indigenous communities, with some newer 20th-century versions having the addition of a little metal tip.[citation needed]
Other digging sticks, according to Native Americans of the Columbia Plateau, have been used since time immemorial to gather edible roots like balsamroot, bitterroot, camas, and varieties of biscuitroot. Typical digging sticks were and are still about 2 to 3 feet in length, usually slightly arched, with the bottom tip shaved off at an angle. A 5 to 8 inch cross-piece made of antler, bone, or wood was fitted perpendicularly over the top of the stick, allowing the use of two hands to drive the tool into the ground. Since contact with the Europeans in the 19th century, Native Americans have also adapted the use of a metal in making digging sticks.[citation needed]
The Chinese call the digging stick "lei"(耒), which is said to have been invented by Shennong.[6] The most primitive lei had only one prong, while improved versions often had two prongs. "lei" is often mentioned together with "si" (耜，push hoe) as the most primitive agricultural tool in China.
Digging sticks are used by many of theAboriginal peoples of Australia, for digging up roots and tubers[7][8] and forceremonial use.[9]
TheGunditjmara people of westernVictoria used digging sticks, also known as "yam sticks", for diggingyams,goannas, ants and other foods out of the ground, as well as for defence, for settling disputes and for punishment purposes as part of customary law.[10]
The Kuman people east-centralNew Guinea werehorticulturists who used basic tools such as the digging stick, wooden hoe, and wooden spade in their daily lives. Eventually they started to use more sophisticated tools such as iron spades and pick-axes.[11]
Two main types of digging sticks both shared a similar shape but differed in size:
Samoans have two types of digging sticks: a regularʻoso with a sharpened wood or metal end to loosen and till land before planting, and anʻoso tō with a blunt end to bore holes for planting.[12]
TheMāori people of New Zealand possesskō 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) long made of strong and long-lasting wood, with one end fashioned into a narrow blade and a footrest tied to the shaft close by. They were used for tilling soil ready for plantingtubers,[13][14] as well as for digging for roots or tubers, and in ceremonial use.[15]Kō often have carved cresent shaped heads associating its purpose as a tool for planting the staplesweet potato (kūmara) to periods to do so in thewaning of a lunar month (mārama).[16]
InHawaii, the‘o‘o is further used ingroundbreaking ceremonies.[17]
The most common digging stick found inEthiopia is theankassay inAmharic, aSemitic language spoken inEthiopia and the second-most spoken Semitic language in the world. Theankassay is a single shaft that is about 4–5 feet in length with a socket-hafted pointed iron blade as the tip.[18]
Two other digging sticks are unique to the Harar region located in East-Central Ethiopia, which are considered to be unusual due to their function beyond the basic use of other digging sticks, and the use of one as a plough.
Thedeungora is a particularly long digging stick, which is about 110 centimetres, or approximately 3.6 feet, in length with a socket-hafted pointed iron blade as the tip. What's unique about this digging stick is that a bored stone, about 15 centimetres in diameter, is attached at the opposing end. This stone shares the same form as other bored stones that have been discovered in archaeological sites inAfrica.[18]
Maresha is theGurage name, also the same word used by theAmhara, for a digging stick that differs in construction because of its forked form. It is used primarily to dig holes for construction, planting, and harvesting roots and tubers. This tool is used as a plow to turn over the soil of an entire field before planting. It is used to break clods of soil in areas where the soil is hard or in areas that may be too steep for ploughing, and to dig holes for construction or to transplant domestic plants. When compared to theankassay, this digging stick can perform the same duties and in addition can be used as a hoe.[18]
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