There is an old saying that “clothes make a man”. And that seems to have been true for longer than previously thought.
German archaeologists have found new evidence that cavemen were dressed in animal skins as far back as 300,000 years ago, according to a study published December 23 in the Journal of Human Evolution. Did.
Organic materials used in early clothing (such as fur and leather) generally do not last longer than 100,000 years, so it can be difficult to find actual evidence of what early humans wore.
But a cut found on a fossilized foot of an ancient cave bear found in the northern German town of Schöningen gives researchers what is believed to be the earliest evidence of prehistoric clothing outside of cave paintings. I gave
“This study is important because we know so little about how humans in the distant past protected themselves from the elements. From this early period, we show evidence of bear skinning.” There are only a handful of sites, and Schoeningen provides the most complete picture,” Ivo Verheijen, the author of the study and a doctoral student at Germany’s University of Tübingen, told CNN in an e-mail.
“We found cut marks on parts of the hands/feet where there was very little meat or fat on the bone, which is in opposition to cut marks derived from animal slaughter,” Verheijen continued. Since the skin is so close to the bone in these places, it is inevitable that the animal will leave marks on the bone when skinned.”
Cave bears went extinct about 25,000 years ago, but studies have shown scientists that they were about the same size as polar bears and had skins suitable for use as clothing and bedding.
The Schöningen site previously gave scientists the oldest known wooden weapons. Nine 300,000-year-old throwing spears, two throwing sticks, and one stabbing spear were discovered.
“In Schoeningen, we found many remains of other animals with cut marks associated with skinning, such as horses and aurochs. The fact that the skin becomes more flexible when it is bruised makes bear skin far more suitable for clothing than other large herbivores.