How the humble eyed needle allowed humans to invent fashion more than 40,000 years ago

Humans have tailored clothing with bone awls or eyeless needles for thousands of years. These tools were practical for making basic outfits. However, one technological innovation forever changed how humans manufactured clothing and may have ushered in fashion as we know it.

In a new study, researchers at the University of Sydney, University of Bergen, and University of Bordeaux have shed new light on the origins of Paleolithic eyed needles. Their analysis has revealed profound insights into the evolution of human clothing and the cultural shifts accompanying this technological advancement that first started around 40,000 years ago.

“With the invention of bone awls~80,000 years ago, humans were able to create tailored and fitted garments by perforating skins with more precision. This advancement resulted in clothing that conforms better to the shape of the body and provides improved protection and comfort. The development in eastern Eurasia, ~40,000 cal B.P., of eyed needles allowed for more efficient sewing of clothes. This innovation enabled humans to create more complex stitched garments, enhancing both functionality and aesthetic appeal,” the researchers wrote.

How Eyed Needles Transformed Human Clothing

Direct archaeological evidence for Paleolithic clothing is sparse because organic matter rarely fossilizes. However, findings in Eurasia from the Early and Middle Pleistocene suggest the use of stone tools (particularly hide-scrapers) to prepare animal skins for insulating clothing as our ancestors adapted to colder environments. For instance, evidence of animal skinning and hide scraping has been found at sites like Hoxne, Qesem Cave, and Schöningen. At the Grotte du Renne, smoothers were found in layers associated with Neanderthals dating from 45,000 to 42,000 years ago.

Traditionally, archaeologists linked the emergence of tailored clothing to the invention of eyed needles made of bone. These needles first appeared in the archaeological record around 40,000 years ago in Siberia, 38,000 years ago in the Caucasus, 30,000 years ago in East Asia, and by 26,000 years ago in Europe.

Before modern humans arrived in Europe around 45,000 years ago, Neanderthals used stone hide-scrapers and bone awls to prepare skins, as mentioned earlier, possibly treating them with tanning agents. It’s believed Neanderthals may have worn simple poncho-style garments.

The researchers led by Ian Gilligan examined archaeological evidence of bone awls and eyed needles from various sites, conducted experimental archaeology to understand the functionality of these tools, and analyzed the broader cultural and climatic contexts in which these technologies emerged.

If bone awls sufficed for sewing fitted garments, the invention of eyed needles begs the question: what needs to justify the extra effort? The transformation of an awl into an eyed needle had many practical advantages. Inserting a thread by hand through a small hole proved tedious, a problem solved by drilling an eye into the awl to carry the thread through. This innovation combined two processes—piercing holes and threading sinew or fiber—into one, making sewing more efficient.

These needles enabled finer stitches, allowing people to make increasingly more complex and elaborate clothing. This includes layered clothing, including close-fitting garments like underwear, which provided better thermal protection — this was of particular importance as these innovations were introduced in the middle of the last ice age. It’s no coincidence that the oldest-eyed needles were found in the colder regions during the late Pleistocene, although no Pleistocene underwear has ever been found.

Simple, loose garments offered limited protection against wind chill, whereas fitted, multilayered clothes trapped air near the skin, reducing convective heat loss. This advancement allowed humans to inhabit a wider range of environments, enhancing their survival and adaptability.

A Thread Through History

Beyond their obvious practical benefits, these needles may have also transformed clothing into a medium for self-expression. Prehistoric humans decorated their bodies with red ocher, tattoos, and various surgical modifications as a means of self-expression. The researchers argue that as the last ice age intensified, there would be fewer opportunities for people to stand out among their peers because there would be less exposed skin due to all the heavy clothing.

As clothing became more necessary, the ability to embellish garments with fine sewing techniques provided a new avenue for personal expression. This is where the fine-eyed needles came in, which they used to adorn their thick clothes with beads and other ornaments. This transition is evidenced by the archaeological record, which shows an increase in personal ornaments during the Upper Paleolithic period.

This shift from body adornment to clothing enhancement is an important milestone in our cultural evolution. Clothes became a medium for social identity and group affiliation, which facilitated larger and more complex societies by enabling individuals to identify and cooperate based on shared clothing styles and symbols.

“The importance of eyed needles lies not in tailoring clothes but rather a further elaboration of clothing that, while technologically a small step, was to prove a quantum leap in human societies where clothing was used on a regular basis. Together with the largely invisible development of underwear and the more obscure genesis of modesty as a motive for covering the human body regardless of climate, the transition to clothing as dress transformed clothing from a physical to a social necessity, ensuring the continued use of clothing up to the present,” the researchers wrote in the journal Science Advances.