Ancient eyed needles, made from bone and dated back around 40,000 years, enabled people to sew fabric or hide together.
Clothing became an important medium for social and cultural expression as traditional body decoration methods were no longer practical in colder climates.
This innovation led to more complex clothing and the adornment of clothes with beads and other decorative items.
The discovery of ancient eyed needles, which date back around 40,000 years, sheds light on a significant shift in human history: the transformation of clothing from a utilitarian necessity to an expression of identity and culture. This transition occurred during the last ice age when traditional body decoration methods were no longer practical due to the need for constant clothing in colder climates.
Eyed needles, which are made from bone and have a small perforated hole at one end, enabled people to sew pieces of fabric or hide together. This innovation led to more complex, layered clothing and the adornment of clothes with beads and other decorative items. The use of eyed needles signified the transition of clothing from being a physical necessity in certain environments to a social necessity in all environments.
The emergence of this new technology allowed our ancestors to inhabit more corners of the world, access different resources and environments, and connect with a broader community. Clothing became an item of decoration because traditional body decoration methods like body painting weren't possible during the latter part of the last ice age in colder parts of Eurasia. The regular wearing of clothing also allowed larger and more complex societies to form as people could relocate to colder climates while also cooperating with their tribe or community based on shared clothing styles and symbols.
The importance of this discovery lies not only in the historical significance but also in its implications for understanding human evolution. Clothing is a significant component in shaping what makes us human, and the emergence of eyed needles marked a pivotal shift in the function of clothing from mere protection to an important medium for social and cultural expression.
Sources:
Gilligan, I., et al. (2024). The beginnings of fashion: Eyed needles from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Kostenki-Borschevo 1, Russia. Science Advances.
Sydney University (2024). Ancient eye needles show clothes became fashionable in Ice Age. ScienceDaily.
Interesting Engineering (2024). Ancient eye needles show clothes became fashionable in Ice Age.
Clothing began as a utilitarian necessity and evolved into a major social tool impacting human societies for centuries.
A team of archaeologists led by Dr. Ian Gilligan at the University of Sydney discovered that eyed needles were a new technological innovation used to adorn clothing for social and cultural purposes, marking the shift from clothes as protection to clothes as an expression of identity.
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 needles 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.
The use of eyed needles signifies the transition of clothing from being a physical necessity in certain environments to a social necessity in all environments.
Accuracy
Eyed needles were a new technological innovation used to adorn clothing for social and cultural purposes, marking the shift from clothes as protection to an important medium for social and cultural expression.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
The author makes an argument that clothing became decorative due to impracticality of traditional body decoration methods in colder climates during the last ice age. This is an example of a causal fallacy, specifically a post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, as the author is assuming that because one thing came before another, it must have caused it. Additionally, there are several instances of inflammatory rhetoric used by the author such as 'quirkly and imaginative multi-media journalist' and 'mission to create a media landscape that’s as diverse as a spotify playlist'. These do not add any value to the argument or analysis, but rather serve to inflame emotions.
]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.
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.
From India to Wales and now England, my journey has been filled with adventures that inspire my paintings, cooking, and writing.
I’m on a mission to create a media landscape that’s as diverse as a spotify playlist.
Clothing is a significant component in shaping what makes us human.
The emergence of clothing enabled our ancestors to inhabit more corners of the world, access different resources and environments, and connect with a broader community.
Eyed needles were a new technological innovation used to adorn clothing for social and cultural purposes, marking a major shift in the function of clothing.
The earliest known eyed needles appeared approximately 40,000 years ago in Siberia.
Bone awls were already being used to create tailored clothes, and the innovation of eyed needles may reflect the production of more complex, layered clothing and the adornment of clothes with beads and other small decorative items.
Clothing evolved to serve not only a practical necessity for protection and comfort against external elements but also a social, aesthetic function for individual and cultural identity.
The regular wearing of clothing allowed larger and more complex societies to form as people could relocate to colder climates while also cooperating with their tribe or community based on shared clothing styles and symbols.
Clothing contributed to a more sustainable lifestyle and enhanced the long-term survival and prosperity of human communities.
Covering the human body regardless of climate is a social practice that has endured.
Accuracy
Clothing was not intrinsic for society or cultures to function; it shifted from utilitarian to social purposes.
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.
A team of researchers led by Dr Ian Gilligan from the University of Sydney discovered the first evidence of eyed needles, which were used for adornment and mark a shift from clothes as protection to clothes as an expression of identity around 40,000 years ago.
Eyed needles are more difficult to make than bone awls but allow for more complex, layered clothing and the adornment of clothes with beads and other decorative items.
Clothing became an item of decoration because traditional body decoration methods like body painting weren’t possible during the latter part of the last ice age in colder parts of Eurasia, as people were needing to wear clothes all the time to survive.
The regular wearing of clothing allowed larger and more complex societies to form, as people could relocate to colder climates while also cooperating with their tribe or community based on shared clothing styles and symbols.
Accuracy
Clothing became an item of decoration because traditional body decoration methods weren't possible during the latter part of the last ice age in colder parts of Eurasia, as people were needing to wear clothes all the time to survive.
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.
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