This is a set of bone sewing needles found in the Cave of Courbet near Toulouse, France, dating to around 13,000 years ago. Trace the history of the sewing needle and you will trace one of the key technologies that enabled Homo sapiens to migrate around the planet, and to outlast our closest human relatives, Homo neanderthalensis.
We know that clothing was first used by both species as early as 100,000 years ago from insect history — it was about this time that head lice and body lice differentiated, speaking to the likelihood that people were wearing skins around that time.
Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens wore furs, and Homo neanderthalensis also had body adaptations that made them more prepared for colder climates. Their bodies were short and stocky, which allowed them to conserve heat, and the shape of their noses warmed the cold air before it entered their lungs. However, it was not Homo neanderthalensis that spread to northeastern Asia and across the Bering Strait into the Western Hemisphere.
The ability of Homo sapiens to make advanced clothing with needles made a critical difference. Sewing needles such as shown here required dexterity and planning to make, and constitute part of the advanced cultural changes that we underwent in the mid-100,000 BCE. Fur-lined clothing, gloves, sleeping bags, and house coverings allowed us to migrate and settle above the Arctic Circle when our Neanderthal cousins did not.
Sources: Origin, Jennifer Raff, pp 183-184. _Sapiens Anthropology Magazine_ “Sewing needles reveal the roots of fashion,” Jacob Pagano, 25 Jan 2019, Also image from Textile Research Centre Leiden
