What is this?
I am willing to bet, you can not only name the tool just by looking at it, you have one in your home, and you know the basics of how to use it. You have probably used it in the past, yourself.
You know they are old. After all, your grandmother and her grandmother used them. What you probably don’t realize is how very old they are.
This one is at least 50,000 years old and is the oldest needle we have found yet.
Yes this one was hand carved from a bird’s bone, while the ones you have tucked away were probably mass produced by machine from metal (here’s a video showing it) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZJPpuL2sqQ
What amazes me is not just that scientists working at the Denisova cave in Siberia have found the world’s oldest (so far) needle, it’s how very old the technology is. We are all amazed by living fossils, those plants and animals that haven’t changed in thousands or millions of years, but this is a living fossil of technology. It wasn’t even made by our human ancestors, but by other hominids who have since died out. And it most likely predates string, as the need for a needle is caused by the use of sinew, hair, and plant fibers, prior to those items becoming thread. To me, the jump from sewing practical stitches to sewing decorative stitches (the essence of embroidery) is so minimal, I doubt this lovely needle wasn’t used for embroidery work.
And even though the materials have changed as our ability to work new materials has developed, the tool itself and the way it’s used has not changed at all. Please let me know if you know of any other tool still in common use today that hasn’t changed from in 50,000 years. And you can still purchase brand new ones made of bone:
For more info, here’s the Siberian Times article about the needle. And very cool jade bracelets.
http://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/news/n0711-worlds-oldest-needle-found-in-siberian-cave-that-stitches-together-human-history/
I think that makes for a good first Throw Back Thursday. I’m not sure it’d be possible to take needlework any further back.
