Needles in Archaeology
A variety of archaeological finds illustrate sewing has been present for thousands of years. The Romans left elaborate traces of their sewing technology, especially thimbles and needles. Even earlier Stone Age finds, such as the excavations on the island of Öland at Alby, Sweden, reveal objects such as bone needle cases dating to 6000 BC. Ivory needles were also found dated to 30,000 years ago at the Kostenki site in Russia. The oldest needle in the world was made of bone, dated to Aurignacian and discovered in Potok Cave (Slovene: Potočka zijalka) in the Eastern Karavanke, Slovenia. Native Americans were known to use sewing needles from natural sources. One such source, the agave plant, provided both the needle and the "thread." The agave leaf would be soaked for an extended period of time, leaving a pulp, long, stringy fibers and a sharp tip connecting the ends of the fibers. The "needle" is essentially what was the tip end of the leaf. Once the fibers dried, the fibers and "needle" could then be used to sew together skins and other items used in a cloth-like manner.
Read more about this topic: Sewing Needle
Famous quotes containing the words needles in and/or needles:
“Needles in a heavenly haystack. There are more stars in the heavens than there are human beings on earth.”
—Sydney Boehm (1908–1990)
“As I stand over the insect crawling amid the pine needles on the forest floor, and endeavoring to conceal itself from my sight, and ask myself why it will cherish those humble thoughts, and hide its head from me who might, perhaps, be its benefactor, and impart to its race some cheering information, I am reminded of the greater Benefactor and Intelligence that stands over me the human insect.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)