Neolithic use of polished or ground stone tools, in contrast to the flaked stone tools used during the Paleolithic era. Neolithic people were skilled farmers, manufacturing a range of tools necessary for the tending, harvesting and processing of crops (such as sickle blades and grinding stones) and food production (e.g. pottery, bone implements). They were also skilled manufacturers of a range of other types of stone tools and ornaments, including projectile points, beads, and statuettes. But what allowed forest clearance on a large scale was the polished stone axe above all other tools. Together with the adze, fashioning wood for shelter,
Neolithic ashmounds millets "Brachiaria ramosa" and "Setaria verticillata" which are not common in modern cultivation were found in several sites while the commonest legumes were "Vigna radiata" and "Macrotyloma uniflorum". The animal remains are mainly of cattle, buffalo and pig (whether wild or domesticated, is not easy to determine). Neolithic ashmounds Neolithic ashmounds (sometimes termed as cinder mounds) are man-made landscape features found in some parts of southern India (chiefly around Bellary) that have been dated to the Neolithic period (3000 to 1200 BC). They have been a puzzle for long and have been the subject of many conjectures and scientific studies.