News Archaeology

A prehistoric method for tailoring clothes may be written in bone

A punctured bone fragment predates eyed needles in Western Europe by about 15,000 years

A photo of a punctured animal bone fragment on a black background.

A nearly 40,000-year-old punctured animal bone fragment (shown) found in Spain was a leatherwork punch board bearing holes from piercing animal hide, a new study suggests.

Francesco d'Errico and Luc Doyon

By McKenzie Prillaman

An animal bone fragment full of human-made pits hints at how prehistoric people in Western Europe may have crafted clothing.

The nearly 40,000-year-old artifact probably served as a punch board for leatherwork, researchers report April 12 in Science Advances.