PESSAC, FRANCE—The International Business Times reports that Aurélie Zemour of Bordeaux Montaigne University and her colleagues examined traces of the 7,000-year-old clothing of a man whose burial was unearthed in southern France in the 1970s. Both ends of the skeletal remains had been damaged by disturbance in the modern and medieval eras. “But the materials worn by the dead here are obvious and ornaments are visible,” Zemour said. “The burial is exceptional.” The cloth of the man’s jacket or tunic did not survive, but the researchers were able to see that it had been embroidered with 158 Columbella rustica shells. The shells had been arranged in patterns, with the conical shells either pointed all up, pointed all down, or up and down in alternating pairs. Sixteen canine teeth from red deer had also been sewn to the garment at chest level. Chemical analysis of the teeth indicates they may have been painted red. For more, go to “World’s Oldest Pants.”
Decorated Stone Age Clothing Studied
News March 8, 2017
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2024
Gallic Steeds
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2022
Before and After
Features March/April 2022
Exploring Notre Dame’s Hidden Past
The devastating 2019 fire is providing an unprecedented look at the secrets of the great cathedral
-
Features January/February 2017
Top 10 Discoveries of 2016
ARCHAEOLOGY’s editors reveal the year’s most compelling finds
-
Features January/February 2017
Hoards of the Vikings
Evidence of trade, diplomacy, and vast wealth on an unassuming island in the Baltic Sea
(Gabriel Hildebrand/The Royal Coin Cabinet, Sweden) -
Features January/February 2017
Fire in the Fens
A short-lived settlement provides an unparalleled view of Bronze Age life in eastern England
(Andrew Testa/New York Times/Redux) -
Letter from Laos January/February 2017
A Singular Landscape
New technology is enabling archaeologists to explore a vast but little-studied mortuary complex in war-damaged Laos
(Jerry Redfern)