What Century Was The Plow Invented?

Question

Does anyone know for sure what century because im having troubles because diffrent cites are saying different ones

Answer 1

You're probably seeing different answers because
1) we often do not KNOW the EARLY history of such inventions... and can only make best guesses
2) some authors are focused on particular ADVANCEMENTS in plows, not the earliest, simplest forms.

To start with, are even the simplest sticks used to make furrows what we are interested in? In that case, you may take the earliest dates, such as the 6000 BC date that has been mentioned. If you're looking for something somewhat more advanced, the date will be much later. I'm moving more in this direction.

The history of the plow is a long one. Something we might now recognize/think of as a plow might go back as far as about 3000 B.C. in Mesopotamia.

Note, though, that various regions created their own adaptations at different times. For example, the Chinese were using an iron plow by about 300 B.C., and one with a "moldboard" (which turn the soil over in a furrow) about 100 B.C.

Overviews
http://historylink101.com/lessons/farm-city/plow.htm
http://patentpending.blogs.com/patent_pending_blog/2004/10/history_of_the_.html


Europe made its own major strides in agriculture in the 9th -10th centuries A.D. with iron plows adapted from the old heavy German plow. But that invention did not stand alone. They were able to take fuller advantage of it because of OTHER inventions, including horseshoes and the horse collar, which enabled them to use horses, not just oxen, to do the work (not to mention a better system of crop rotation).
http://www.vlib.us/medieval/lectures/peasants.html

(Incidentally, this is one of several key examples of how --contrary to popular thought-- important technological advances over the classical period were taking place in medieval Europe.)

Then there are more recent advances, esp. a series of changes made by American plow makers, mainly in the first third of the 19th century, including the work of Charles Newbold and (Actually, Thomas Jefferson made a contribution as well, with an improved moldboard -- see the 'patent-pending' link above). See more on that (with a convenient table) here:
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfarm1.htm
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bldeere.htm

Answer 2

The Captain is correct. According to Ohio State University eHistory, the plow (or plough) was invented circa 6000 BCE.

Their major source for Ancient History is:
Martin, Thomas R. Ancient Greece from Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times. New Haven. 2000

Answer 3

It was developed around 6000 bc. An exact date, or even century, would be hard to get because this was before writing, and they were made of wood.