Archaeologists have discovered a tool used for sewing clothes in Spain that dates back to about 39,600 years ago. This discovery indicates that humans were sewing clothes thousands of years before the invention of the needle. The tool was made from a bone fragment from the hip of a herbivore, most likely a horse or an aurochs.
Discovery of the Sewing Tool
The artifact was found in an open-air site near the delta of a stream in Gavà, Spain. Six stone tools also were found at the site. The researchers, led by Luc Doyon from the Université de Bordeaux, found uneven puncture marks on the bone fragment, which led them to conclude that it was used for sewing.
Significance of the Find
The discovery is significant because it pushes back the earliest evidence of humans sewing clothes in Europe. “Based on the age of the object, and on the other material cultures found in association, it would be Homo sapiens, among the first Homo sapiens to be established in Europe about 40,000 years before the present,” Doyon says. While it’s possible that humans had needles that haven’t been found yet, the bone fragment found in Spain is the earliest evidence of an effective pricking technique being used to sew animal hide.
According to the researchers, clothing is believed to have existed for over 120,000 years. Early needles have been found in South Africa from 61,000 years ago, Siberia’s Denisova Cave from 50,000 years ago, and China from 45,000 years ago. However, this is the first time that researchers have documented a technique that’s still in use by traditional societies and cobblers.
“In Spain the technology seems to have arisen 26,000 years ago”, Doyon says. Maybe they had needles that haven’t been found yet, but what the researchers found seems to be the next best thing – a punching board for animal hide.”
Tipping point in cultural adaptation
“We argue that this innovation documents a previously unrecorded tipping point in cultural adaptation favoring modern-human niche expansion.” the authors wrote in their paper published in Science Advances. The researchers suggest that the early modern humans in the region, the Aurignacians, had a range of tools to make art and jewelry. The use of such tools for creating clothes might have been a status symbol or perhaps they cared about their appearance.
This ancient tool is a remarkable find that sheds light on the ingenuity and resourcefulness of our ancient ancestors. The discovery provides valuable insights into the history of human civilization and the development of important technologies.
