Hoe-farming

Hoe-farming is a term introduced (as German: Hackbau; as opposed to Ackerbau) by Eduard Hahn in 1910 to collectively refer to primitive forms of agriculture, defined by the absence of the plough.

Tillage in hoe-farming cultures is done by simple manual tools such as digging sticks or hoes.

Early forms of the plough (ard) were introduced throughout the Near East (Naqada II) and Europe (Linear Pottery culture) by the 5th to 4th millennium BC.

The hoe-cultivation belt is mostly located in tropical latitudes, including Sub-Saharan Africa (but not the Horn of Africa, where the plough appears to have been introduced via Egypt), Maritime Southeast Asia, and the pre-Columbian Americas.

Split hoeing is contrasted to permanent plough-based cultivation systems and the intensification of agriculture.