How did ancient people survive the Ice Age?

How Did Ancient Humans Survive the Ice Age Winter? All research and sources are linked below. 📚 RESEARCH & SOURCES: ▸ Eyed needle from Denisova Cave — "Denisova Cave Yields a 50,000-Year-Old Needle," Archaeology magazine (Aug 23, 2016), citing the Siberian Times and Mikhail Shunkov, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Novosibirsk — about 7 cm, bird bone, with an eye, found in a layer where Denisovan remains have been found. The age and the maker are based on the excavators' statements. https://archaeology.org/news/2016/08/23/16... ▸ Neanderthal leather tools (lissoirs) — "Neandertals made the first specialized bone tools in Europe," Marie Soressi et al. (2013, PNAS) https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1302730110 — deer-rib hide smoothers from Pech-de-l'Azé I and Abri Peyrony. Press summary: https://www.mpg.de/7494657/neandertals-lea... ▸ Lice and the origin of clothing, 2003 — "Molecular evolution of Pediculus humanus and the origin of clothing," Ralf Kittler, Manfred Kayser, Mark Stoneking (2003, Current Biology 13: 1414–1417) https://utsouthwestern.elsevierpure.com/en... — body lice live only in clothing; molecular clock estimate of about 72,000 ± 42,000 years. ▸ Lice and the origin of clothing, 2011 — "Origin of clothing lice indicates early clothing use by anatomically modern humans in Africa," Melissa A. Toups, Andrew Kitchen, Jessica E. Light, David L. Reed (2011, Molecular Biology and Evolution 28: 29–32) https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msq234 — clothing lice split from head lice at least 83,000, possibly as early as 170,000 years ago. University of Florida press release: https://archive.news.ufl.edu/articles/2011... ▸ Humans in the Arctic — "The Yana RHS site: humans in the Arctic before the last glacial maximum," Vladimir Pitulko et al. (2004, Science 303: 52–56) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14704419/ — a site at 71°N, dated to 27,000 radiocarbon years. ▸ Wild flax fibers — "30,000-Year-Old Wild Flax Fibers," Eliso Kvavadze et al. (2009, Science 325: 1359) https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/4270521 — spun, knotted and apparently dyed fibers from Dzudzuana Cave, Georgia. ▸ Woven textile impressions — "Upper Palaeolithic fibre technology: interlaced woven finds from Pavlov I, Czech Republic, c. 26,000 years ago," J. M. Adovasio, Olga Soffer, Bohuslav Klíma (1996, Antiquity 70: 526–534) https://resolve.cambridge.org/core/journal... ▸ Toe bones and early footwear — "Anatomical evidence for the antiquity of human footwear use," Erik Trinkaus (2005, Journal of Archaeological Science 32: 1515–1526) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2005.04.006 and "Anatomical evidence for the antiquity of human footwear: Tianyuan and Sunghir," Erik Trinkaus and Hong Shang (2008, Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 1928–1933) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2007.12.002 ▸ Simple vs. complex clothing — "The prehistoric development of clothing: Archaeological implications of a thermal model," Ian Gilligan (2010, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory) https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/p... ▸ Eyed needles and the cold — "Paleolithic eyed needles and the evolution of dress," Ian Gilligan, Francesco d'Errico, Luc Doyon, Wei Wang, Yaroslav Kuzmin (2024, Science Advances) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1... and Ian Gilligan, "When did clothing originate?" (Smithsonian Magazine) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nat... — the argument that eyed needles let our species reach Siberia's frozen northeast, where Neanderthals, who lacked them, did not go at the coldest time. ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATIONS: All images are stylized drawings. The faces and looks of Neanderthals and Denisovans in this video are illustrative guesses, not scientific reconstructions. The "one winter morning" scene is a reconstruction built from the finds listed above, not a documented day. #ancienthumans #prehistory #iceage #stoneage #anthropology #archaeology #history #explainer #neanderthals #denisovans #humanevolution #paleolithic #ancienthistory #science #documentary #origins #clothing #survival #winter #evolution