Early Egyptian ploughs were scratch ploughs, akin to a stick being pulled through the earth. During the Qin and Han dynasties (221 BCE to 220 CE), Chinese farmers developed the turn plough, which turns the soil upside down, creating furrows. Settled agriculture was five or six times more productive than foraging. The plough brought the end of a society in which everyone's occupation was effectively 'food finder'. Indeed, one historian has argued that the entire modern world is the result of the plough.
Ploughs changed power dynamics too. Digging stick agriculture is relatively gender-equal, but ploughs require significant upper body strength to pull the plough or control the animal that pulls it. So the plough made farming a more male-dominated activity. The legacy of this technology has echoed down the generations. In countries where plough use was uncommon (such as Rwanda and Madagascar), gender norms are more equal than in countries where plough use was common (such as Mauritania and Ethiopia). Even among immigrants who have recently moved to advanced countries, those from countries with a heritage of plough use are less likely to believe that women should have jobs outside the home.
- Andrew Leigh, The Shortest History of Economics, Collingwood VIC, 2024, p.16
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