Civilization / Foundations of Civilization

Clothing & the Sewing Needle

Tanned hides and sewn clothing made cold regions habitable; the oldest known eyed needles are about 40,000 years old.

Fur and fabric rarely survive; evidence comes from bone tools for hide working at Contrebandiers Cave (Morocco, 120,000-90,000 years ago) and from the genetic split of clothing lice from head lice, dated to between 83,000 and 170,000 years ago. Eyed needles appear about 40,000 years ago in Siberia (Denisova Cave) and later in the Caucasus, East Asia and Europe, although a Denisova needle has also been reported at about 50,000 years. Eyed needles were not needed for fitted garments: bone awls for hide work are tens of thousands of years older.