30,000 Year Old Flax and the Antiquity of Needles--

Though complex attire is usually associated with Neolithic humans, the Stone Age gave rise to many of the tools and practices associated with comprehensive costume production. Thousands of years before agriculture and "modernity," dyes, needles, and plant domestication appear in the archaeological record. This might suggest that the beautiful attire of the Holocene arose from gradual processes. However, many of these sites also indicate that the cold climates could have accelerated these trends.


One of the earliest needles discovered is associated with Sibudu Cave, and it is assumed to have pierced animal hides. It is dated at about 61,000 BP. Many sites in Europe and Asia have shown needles (and therefore sewing) to be a essential part to prehistoric living for many, especially in places of environmental extremes. (Blackwell 2008)

Bone and Ivory needles of Xiaogushan, Liaoning Province, China
Source: http://www.historyofinformation.com/expanded.php

Researchers report on old sites containing modified plant fibers, finding:

       wild flax fibers from a series of Upper Paleo- lithic layers at Dzudzuana cave... indicating that prehistoric hunter-gatherers were making cords for hafting stone tools, weaving baskets, or sewing garments. Other early reports of the use of plant fibers include Dolni Vestonice (Czech Republic) at ca. 29-32 ka cal BP(probably nettle...) and uni- dentified species in Ohalo II (Israel) at ca. 21 ka cal BP (Kvavadze 2010)

The site of early dyes at Dzudzuana was found to have been occupied sporadically between 32,000-6,000 cal BP. Flax fibers are found throughout this stretch of time, some older samples with odd coloring while others are naturally shaded:

      A wide range of natural pigments was available to the Upper Paleolithic occupants of the cave including roots and other plant parts from the flora of the Caucasus where 224 plant species used as natural pigments for dying strings and textiles were recorded (11). The colors range includes yellow, red, blue, violet, black, brown, green and khaki. (Kvavadze, 2010)

Dzudzuana Cave
Source:http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/depart/prehistoric/annab/photo.asp

Flax fibers from Dzudzuana Cave
Source: http://archaeology.about.com/od/middlepaleolithic/ss/textile_dzudzuana.htm

The antiquity of these findings gives us tantalizing glimpses into what could be early apparel. The agedness of sewing and clothing paraphernalia make the effort to domesticate for the sake textile materials a persuasive approach to the popular puzzle of agriculture's origin. The difficulty the human body has in processing most plant fibers adds to the perplexing issue of a food-based motivation. Conveniently, the wild flax samples of Dzudzuana and the plethora of pigments connected with the plant material could corroborate tentative ideas being offered to explain humans' move towards farming and sedentary life. Cloth and cord production (rather than subsistence) may have led to the domestication of plants instead. This would explain the impetus to cultivate wild breeds, given the nutritional payoff early vegetation would struggle provide.


Kvavadze, Eliso, Ofer Bar-Yosef, Anna Belfer-Cohen, Elisabetta Boaretto, Nino Jakeli, Zinovi Matskevich, and Tengiz Meshveliani.
2009.     30,000 Years old wild flax fibers - Testimony for fabricating prehistoric linen. Science. 325(5946): 1359.

Backwell L, d'Errico F, Wadley L.
2008.    Middle Stone Age bone tools from the Howiesons Poort layers, Sibudu Cave, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science, 35:1566-1580.