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

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

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

Researchers 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, who also happens to be the first author of the study said that the work reinforced the view that early humans in Africa were innovative and resourceful.

She was quoted by The Guardian as saying, “Our study adds another piece to the long list of hallmark human behaviours that begin to appear in the archaeological record of Africa around 100,000 years ago".

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Previous studies looking at the DNA of clothing lice have suggested clothes may have appeared as early as 170,000 years ago, probably sported by anatomically modern humans in Africa.

The latest study further adds that weight to the idea that early humans may have had something of a wardrobe.

Hallett and colleagues report how they analysed animal bones excavated in a series of digs spanning several decades at Contrebandiers Cave on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.

It has been revealed that the cave contains the remains of early humans.

Hallett said that 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.