Weaving
Dyed flax fibres in a Georgian cave show textiles existed 34,000 years ago.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 4 thousand years
- Known to
- ± 2 thousand years
- Era
- Late Pleistocene, Quaternary
Microscopic twisted flax fibres from Dzudzuana Cave in Georgia, some dyed in a range of colours including turquoise, pink and black, date to around 34,000 years ago — the oldest evidence of textile production. Impressions of woven and knotted textiles also appear on fired clay at Dolni Vestonice. Cloth is almost entirely absent from the archaeological record because it rots, so the invisible half of Palaeolithic material culture was probably much larger than the stone half.