Artistic impression of decorated tailored clothing from the Upper Paleolithic period (Image credit: Mariana Ariza)
SYDNEY — 40,000 years ago, the world gave birth to its first fashionistas. A study published in the journal Science Advances reveals how our human ancestors used needle-tipped tools to decorate their clothing. While the small ornaments may not seem like much by today’s standards, this choice marked a major shift in how we viewed clothing: clothing was no longer just a means of protection from the elements, but a form of self-expression and cultural identity.
“Why do we wear clothes? We think it’s part of being human. But when we look at different cultures we see that people were able to fully exist and function in society without clothes,” Ian Gilligan, professor of archaeology at the University of Sydney in Australia, explained in a media release.
One of the questions the researchers will answer is why people have begun to use clothing to express themselves, and the study shows that clothing has become more than just a physical necessity, but a social necessity to be more attractive in group dynamics.
Artistic impression of decorated tailored clothing from the Upper Paleolithic period (Image credit: Mariana Ariza)
Trending: Eye-Eyed Needles on Prehistoric Clothing
The eyelet needle is one of the most iconic relics of the Stone Age, with the oldest dating back 40,000 years in Siberia. It is a sharp tool made from animal bone, similar to a bone awl. The eyelet needle has a hole in it to make it easier to thread it through clothing.
While bone awls were already being used to make tailored clothing, the eyelet likely represented a shift to make more complex, layered garments (necessary for surviving Siberia’s frigid winters). Along with eyelet, the authors note, our Paleolithic ancestors also fashioned accessories from beads and other small ornaments.
“We know that up until the last Ice Age, clothing was only used in an ad hoc manner, and the typical tools that we associate with that are hide scrapings and stone chippings, and we see these appearing and disappearing during different stages of the last Ice Age,” Dr Gilligan said.
Eyed needles from the Last Ice Age (Image credit: Gilligan et al 2024)
Explain the evolution of clothing
According to the authors, clothing provided a new way for people to express themselves: during the last Ice Age, people always wore clothes to stay warm, making traditional methods of decoration like body painting or deliberate scarring not feasible.
Clothing was a necessity to protect oneself from the extreme cold weather and to stay comfortable. As different communities migrated to areas with colder climates, clothing gradually transformed into a social necessity and by sharing clothing styles, people could identify members of their tribe. Knowing who belonged to one’s tribe and who did not increased the willingness of others to cooperate with oneself. Overall, having unique symbols and decorations on clothing allowed for individual expression and strengthened the cultural identity of the group.
“We take it for granted that we feel comfortable when we dress and uncomfortable when we don’t in public,” Dr. Gilligan concludes. “But how does wearing clothes affect the way we see ourselves, how we see ourselves as people, and perhaps how we see the environment around us?”
