Ancient-eyed needles indicate clothes became fashionable in Ice Age

Recently, researchers dived into the past to comprehend the evolution of fashion. Clothes began as a utilitarian necessity and now have become a major social tool that has been impacting human societies for centuries now.

A team of archaeologists led by Dr Ian Gilligan at the University of Sydney undertook a study which led them to a new discovery.

In a statement, the authors proposed that eyed needles were a new technological innovation used to adorn clothing for social and cultural purposes, marking the major shift from clothes as protection to clothes as an expression of identity.

Advent of eyed needles around 40,000 years ago marked a pivotal shift

They say that the advent of eyed needles around 40,000 years ago marked a pivotal shift in the function of clothing from mere protection to an important medium for social and cultural expression.

“Eyed needle tools are an important development in prehistory because they document a transition in the function of clothing from utilitarian to social purposes,” stated Dr Gilligan.

What are eyed needles? These are tools made from bone that exhibit a small perforated hole, or “eye,” near one end, allowing for the threading of sinew, thread, or other materials. This makes it possible to sew pieces of fabric or hide together.

This tool found first in Siberia has been called “​​the most iconic of Palaeolithic artefacts from the Stone Age.” It helped ancient clothing designers, weavers and textile developers make more precise, pristine clothes with fine sewing, coming together to curate a well-fitted adorned garment.

Now scientists are questioning when humanity began to dress to express themselves or impress others.

“Why do we wear clothes? We assume that it’s part of being human, but once you look at different cultures, you realise that people existed and functioned perfectly adequately in society without clothes,” Dr Gilligan said.

“What intrigues me is the transition of clothing from being a physical necessity in certain environments, to a social necessity in all environments.

The other alternative was bone awls which were already in existence before the eye needles appeared.

Dr Gilligan explained that it’s already established clothing up until the last glacial cycle was only used on an ad hoc basis. The classic tools associated with them are hidden scrapers or stone scrapers, and they appear to have gone away during the different phases of the last ice ages.

Now the study’s authors argue that clothing became decorative because colder climates during the last ice age made traditional body decoration methods impractical.

“That’s why the appearance of eyed needles is particularly important because it signals the use of clothing as decoration,” he said. “Eyed needles would have been especially useful for the very fine sewing that was required to decorate clothing.”

Scientists have now ascertained that traditional body decoration methods like body painting became impractical in colder climatic conditions, prompting the adornment of clothing itself.

The study was published earlier today [June 28, 2024] in the journal – Science Advances .