13,000 years ago, North Americans used cheetah, lion bones to sew furs against the blistering cold

In a recent breakthrough, archaeologists from the University of Wyoming have unearthed bone needles crafted from the bones of various furry animals, shedding new light on the clothing practices of early North Americans nearly 13,000 years ago. The study, led by archaeologist Spencer Pelton and published in the journal PLOS ONE, reveals that these primitive inhabitants made needles from the bones of animals such as foxes, hares, rabbits, bobcats, mountain lions, lynx, and the now-extinct American cheetah to create garments necessary for survival in a cool climate.

"Our study is the first to identify the species and likely elements from which Paleoindians produced eyed bone needles," the researchers wrote, highlighting the significance of their findings, according to a report by Gazeta.ru.

The discovery was made at the La Prele Mammoth site in Converse County, Wyoming, where people killed or scavenged a Columbian mammoth nearly 13,000 years ago. This site, which preserves the remains of a sub-adult Columbian mammoth and an associated camp occupied during the time the animal was butchered, has produced new insights into the cultural innovations of early inhabitants of North America, as reported by Phys.org.

"These garments partially enabled modern human dispersal to northern latitudes and eventually enabled colonization of the Americas," the researchers wrote, as noted by ABC Color. Early humans at northern latitudes likely created tailored garments with closely stitched seams that provided a better barrier against the elements.

"Our results are strong evidence for tailored garment production using bone needles and fur-bearing animal pelts," the researchers stated, according to Observador. They believe that the clothing made with these bone needles is similar to that worn by Indigenous peoples today, featuring closely stitched seams.

The team analyzed 32 bone needle fragments collected at the La Prele Mammoth site. Using advanced techniques such as zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS), they examined the collagen residues present in the bone needles and identified the animal bones from which they were carved. The amino acids of animals in these artifacts were compared with those of animals that existed between 13,500 and 12,000 years ago, as reported by Público.

This analysis revealed that the needles were made from the bones of red foxes, hares or rabbits, bobcats, mountain lions, lynx, and the now-extinct American cheetah (Miracinonyx trumani), according to Phys.org. The researchers speculate that these animals were not primarily hunted for their meat but for their fur and bones, providing insight into the cultural innovations of early humans.

The presence of these small animals was surprising to the team, since Early Paleoindian sites on the Great Plains are typically dominated by the bones of large animals like bison and mammoths. "This really altered our perception of Early Paleoindians as solely large game hunters," Pelton said, as reported by Popular Science.

Sewing tools like bone needles were essential for creating complex garments that could withstand the harsh climatic conditions of the time. The researchers noted that the cold conditions of the North American Younger Dryas, a period around 12,900 to 11,700 years ago marked by a sudden cooling in the Northern Hemisphere, likely inspired a greater reliance on such garments. "Once equipped with such garments, modern humans had the ability to expand their range to places from which they were previously excluded due to the threat of hypothermia or death by exposure," they stated, according to DW (Deutsche Welle).

While there are currently no examples of preserved Paleolithic clothing, the bone needles and the bones of fur-bearing animals provide some indirect evidence of early tailoring. The team believes that these bone needles are some of the best evidence yet of what clothing may have looked like at this time.

The findings at the La Prele site also include the oldest known bead in the Americas, made of hare bone, discovered earlier this year by the same team, as reported by Gizmodo.

Pelton emphasized the importance of these artifacts in understanding the life and culture of the region's early inhabitants, about whom surprisingly little is known. "They were complex garments fringed with the furs of red fox, hare, and cat, some of which with feet still attached as is common among modern trappers," he said, according to Popular Science.

"Our results are a good reminder that foragers use animal products for a wide range of purposes other than subsistence, and that the mere presence of animal bones in an archaeological site need not be indicative of diet," the researchers concluded, according to Phys.org.

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq