So tell me if I've got it right:

The study concludes that the sycle was not used in early plant domestication. It was used for other purposes (in the Near East) or not invented until after plant domestication had occured ( in China), and was later adapted to the harvesting of already domesticated plants.

Early harvesting of semi- and newly-domesticated plants was done using older "hunter gatherer" type techniques.

Does this imply that domestication may have occured earlier than previously thought in some areas, because use of the sycle was seen as an indicator of the "start time"?

Peski
"Marge, don’t discourage the boy! Weaseling out of something is important to learn. It’s what separates us from the animals. Except the weasel." - Homer Simpson