Posted on 04/21/2011 7:40:45 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Textiles and rope fragments found in a Peruvian cave have been dated to around 12,000 years ago, making them the oldest textiles ever found in South America, according to a report in the April issue of Current Anthropology.
The items were found 30 years ago in Guitarrero Cave high in the Andes Mountains. Other artifacts found along with the textiles had been dated to 12,000 ago and even older. However, the textiles themselves had never been dated, and whether they too were that old had been controversial, according to Edward Jolie, an archaeologist at Mercyhurst College (PA) who led this latest research.
"By dating the textiles themselves, we were able to confirm their antiquity and refine the timing of the early occupation of the Andes highlands," Jolie said. His team used the latest radiocarbon dating technique -- accelerated mass spectrometry -- to place the textiles at between 12,100 and 11,080 years old.
The textile items include fragments of woven fabrics possibly used for bags, baskets, wall or floor coverings, or bedding.
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
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The worlds oldest textiles are in the back of my closet.
Were textiles first woven in Mesopotamia? Or earlier?
The oldest known instance of textiles survived as an imprint on clay only — these were reed matting or possibly baskets which left a beautiful clear impression on wet clay, which then dried and preserved the image. This was found in Europe somewhere, is circa 30K years old.
Oh, okay, here are some 30K year old flax fibers, from Georgia (in Europe, not US):
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112726804
Interesting. I was hoping the opening article would say what kind of plant was used in the Peruvian textiles.
Ever have family or friends produce an old vintage picture of yourself, and you point out that either you A) still have that article of clothing, or B) are still wearing it? I love that.
Yeah, really. Cotton, or other plant fibers? It’s probably in the lit, since the dating of these is recent, but their discovery is not.
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