Scientists find evidence of humans making clothes 120,000 years ago - The Guardian

Now researchers say they have found some of the earliest evidence of humans using clothing in a cave in Morocco, with the discovery of bone tools and bones from skinned animals suggesting the practice dates back at least 120,000 years.

Dr Emily Hallett, of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany, the first author of the study, said the work reinforced the view that early humans in Africa were innovative and resourceful.

Hallett said she began studying the animal bones in 2012 because she was interested in reconstructing the diet of early humans and exploring whether there had been any changes in diet associated with changes in stone tool technology.

While Hallett said it was possible the bone tools could have been used to prepare leather for other uses, the combined evidence suggests it is likely – particularly for fur – that the early humans made clothes.

Dr Matt Pope, an expert on Neanderthals at the UCL Institute of Archaeology who was not involved in the study, said clothing almost certainly had an evolutionary origin before 120,000 years ago, noting among other evidence finds of even older stone scrapers, some with traces of hide working.