Since the dawn of civilization, man has mastered the art of dressing. Adopting different shapes and styles of clothing throughout history. Although it is difficult for us to conceive of life without the comfort and functionality of clothing, it is a long-standing debate to determine when our ancestors began to dress regularly. Next, we’ll dive into the historical journey of human dress.
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The oldest clothing discovered by archaeologists.
We know fascinating details about clothing in antiquity from archaeological evidence, although much of that evidence is inconclusive. The earliest example of human clothing so far is known as the “Tarkhan Dress.” A linen outfit with a V-neckline, which Egyptologist Flinders Petrie found in a First Dynasty tomb in the ancient Egyptian cemetery of Tarkhan. Radiocarbon analysis revealed that the dress was made between 3482 and 3102 B.C.
It is quite likely that there are still clothes from earlier dates, but we have not yet discovered them. One factor that could contribute to this lack of evidence is that the materials from which clothes were made back then, such as wool or linen, are biodegradable fibers of animal and plant origin. That meant they didn’t survive for long. Ironically, the fact that the Tarkhan Dress was found in an “extremely dry” climate may have contributed to its preservation, allowing its discovery thousands of years later.
At Çatalhöyük, an ancient Neolithic settlement in modern-day Turkey, archaeologists found fragments of plant-based textiles believed to be around 8,500 years old. This finding encourages the idea that, at that time in history, humans were already making and wearing clothing. An even more astonishing discovery took place in Dzudzuana Cavern in Georgia, at a distance of about 1440 kilometers from Çatalhöyük.
There, the researchers found wild flax fibers, some of which were twisted and dyed with natural pigments. A sign of its use in clothing design. What’s amazing about this find is that they date back about 30,000 years, long before the Çatalhöyük cloth fragments.
The trail of lice.
In addition, scientists have explored other unconventional methods of tracing the origin of clothing: the study of lice. There are two types of lice that affect humans: the head louse, which lives and feeds on the scalp. And the body louse, which lives in our clothes and feeds on our body. The researchers suggest that the appearance of the body lice may indicate when humans began to wear clothing, since these insects adapted to live in them.
DNA analysis of these two types of lice suggests that the body louse may have split from the head louse between 83,000 and 170,000 years ago. If this theory is accurate, the history of clothing could be traced back to this period. It is important to note that this calculation is simply a rough estimate, as it would have taken a while for body lice to fully adapt to living in clothing.
So it is likely that the first garments began to be worn shortly before this period. There is also evidence to suggest that Neanderthals may have used fur as covering, adding another layer of complexity to our understanding of the history of clothing. However, the deeper we delve into the past, the harder it is to find direct evidence. So we may never get to know the “naked truth” about the exact moment humans started dressing.
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