The earliest inhabitants of North America made needles from the bones of furry animals such as foxes, bobcats and the now-extinct American cheetah to make clothing nearly 13,000 years ago, a study from the University of Wyoming has revealed.
The research, led by Wyoming archaeologist Spencer Pelton and published in the journal PLOS ONE, found that the bones from which the needles were made were from furry animals such as foxes, hares or rabbits, and felines such as wild cats, cougars, bobcats and the now extinct American cheetah.
"Our study is the first to identify the species and likely elements with which Paleoindians made needles," highlighted the researchers, who emphasize that despite the importance of these tools in explaining the dispersal of human beings, their use had never been analyzed.
The researchers assured that their results are "reliable proof" of the manufacture of personalized garments, the Efe news agency reported on Wednesday.
"These garments partly allowed the dispersal of modern humans to northern latitudes and, over time, the colonization of America," they emphasized.
"Once equipped with these suits, modern humans had the ability to expand their range to locations from which they were previously excluded due to the threat of hypothermia or death from exposure," they detailed.
The discoveries were made at the LaPrele site in Converse County (Wyoming), which preserves the remains of a mammoth and a camp where primitive people settled almost 13,000 years ago.
In the same area, a group of researchers from the same university found the oldest known bead in America a few months ago.
To conclude the origin of the bones from which the needles were made, the researchers turned to mass spectrometry zooarchaeology, also known as ZooMS.
They examined 32 bone needle fragments collected at the site and compared them with amino acids from animals thought to have existed during the Early Paleoindian period, between 13,500 and 12,000 years ago.
"Combined with a review of evidence from other Paleoindian sites in North America, our results suggest that early Paleoindians had direct access to furry predators, probably through traps, and represent some of the most detailed evidence yet discovered for Paleoindian clothing", the researchers concluded.
