Oldest sewn hide clothing found in Oregon caves

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Site mentioned

📍 Cougar Mountain Cave

The oldest sewn material ever found — an elk hide fragment — dates to approximately 12,000 years ago from Cougar Mountain Cave in central Oregon. Fiber cordage mixed plant and animal fibers for the first time. The assemblage includes fiber cordage, hide strips, and bone needles revealing complex cold-climate clothing technology during the Younger Dryas period ❄️

Key facts claimed:

- Oldest sewn material ever found discovered in Cougar Mountain Cave, Oregon

- Sewn elk hide fragment dates to ~12,000 years ago, coinciding with Younger Dryas period

- Artifacts include fiber cordage, hide strips, and bone needles

- First evidence of mixing plant and animal fibers in cordage

- Collection includes 66 radiocarbon dates on 55 items from 15 plant and animal taxa

Key facts

  • Oldest piece of sewn material ever found discovered in Cougar Mountain Cave and Paisley Caves, Oregon
  • Sewn elk hide fragment dates to 12,600-12,050 years ago, coinciding with Younger Dryas period
  • Artifacts include fiber cordage, hide strips, and bone needles
  • First evidence of mixing plant and animal fibers in cordage
  • Collection includes 66 radiocarbon dates on 55 items from 15 plant and animal taxa
  • Items reveal complex clothing technology for cold climate adaptation
  • Research represents shift from emphasis on big game hunting to understanding other survival strategies

Related stories

Sources

Oldest known sewn hide identified in Ice Age Oregon cave suggests ...archaeologymag.com
Ice Age caves in Oregon yield 12000 year old sewn hide, bone needles, and rabbit fur, offering rare evidence of early tailored clothing.
Oregon cave holds 12000-year-old sewn materials - NPRnpr.org
The bone and hide were made from elk and bison and mountain sheep. And so just all of that together gives this kind of glimpse into ecology and ...
The Oldest Sewn Hide in the World Came from an Oregon Caveanthropology.net
A fragment of elk hide found in Cougar Mountain Cave in central Oregon has a cord running through its margin. The cord, made from a mix of plant ...
The world's oldest piece of clothing might be an Ice Age–era hide ...sciencenews.org
Two small scraps of elk hide, joined by a cord of twisted fibers and preserved for roughly 12,400 years in an Oregon rock shelter, ...
These 12,000-Year-Old Scraps of Elk Hide May Be the World's ...smithsonianmag.com
Researchers say they may have identified the world's oldest known evidence of sewing: two pieces of elk hide stitched together with cord.
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