The oldest and most consequential farm implement: a blade dragged through the ground to break, turn and bury, converting sod and stubble into seedbed. From the simple scratch ard of the Bronze Age to the heavy mouldboard plough that opened northern Europe's clay and John Deere's steel plough that broke the prairie, its history is the history of what land could be farmed at all. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Disputed
Introduced YearArd-plough evidence appears in the Near East as early as the sixth millennium BCE; the earliest known European wooden ard, at Lavagnone in Italy, dates to around 2300 to 2000 BCE, though scratch marks consistent with early ploughing there date to 3500 to 3000 BCE. 3000 BCE is used here as the conventional circa marker, consistent with this entity's own origin-note; the precise origin point and date remain debated among archaeologists. OriginArd ploughs attested by circa 3000 BC in Mesopotamia and Europe; heavy mouldboard ploughs spread in medieval Europe; the steel plough dates to 1837 1 Classification
Power Source Connections
Associated With
chisel plough is a heavy primary-tillage variant of the plough, using shanks instead of a moldboard
Source Disc Harrow (Wikipedia)
Source Cultivator (Wikipedia)
Deere's contribution is the self-scouring steel plough of 1837, not the plough as such, which is ancient
Source Wikipedia: Plough
rotary tiller is an alternative primary-tillage implement to the plough
Causes
Drought plus decades of deep ploughing that displaced the native grasses holding the topsoil
Source Dust Bowl (Wikipedia)
Powered By
Entity-backed identity for the power-source enum value this implement already carries, resolved to an agriculture concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The power-source fact itself stays on the implement unchanged.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Plough
Wikipedialead description or Wikipedia lead (power-source)
Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors.
- Lead section (American English spelling)
View the Source 2. Ard (plough) (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHistory sectionQuote, History section
Evidence appears in the Near East in the 6th millennium BC.
John Deere, Inventor (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation19th century sectionQuote, 19th century section
Deere created a highly polished steel surface that allowed the soil to slide easily.
Disc Harrow (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Disc Harrow, Lead sectionQuote, Associated With: Disc Harrow, Lead section
It is an agricultural implement that is used to till the soil where crops are to be planted.
Hoe (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Hoe, History section, opening sentenceQuote, Associated With: Hoe, History section, opening sentence
Hoes are an ancient technology, predating the plough and perhaps preceded only by the digging stick.
Cultivator (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Field Cultivator, History section, first sentenceQuote, Associated With: Field Cultivator, History section, first sentence
was done with hoes or plough for millennia before any larger or more complex equipment was developed
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.