Why Did Humans Start Wearing Clothes?

The first clothes have almost certainly rotted away, so how can scientists date early clothing use? The best witness is a louse. Body lice live in clothing, and a genetic study places their split from head lice at least eighty three thousand years ago, possibly a hundred and seventy thousand. That dates regular clothing use, rather than a particular first outfit. Genetic evidence suggests our ancestors lost most body fur long before regular clothing. We follow the clues from fur processing in Morocco to colored plant fibers in Georgia, identified as flax by their discoverers but disputed by other scientists, and the first eyed needles. Warmth most likely started clothing, the needle team argues decoration helped it endure, and the origin of modesty remains obscure. Your goosebumps still run an old fur raising reflex. Chapters 0:00 The Case of the First Outfit 1:17 The Tiny Witness 2:26 The Louse Clock 3:27 A Million Years Without a Coat 4:33 The Fox Skinners 5:30 The Turquoise Threads 7:01 The Interrogation 7:44 The Verdict Sources Kittler: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-9822(03... Toups et al. 2011: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles... US CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/lice/about/head-l... US CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/lice/about/body-l... Hallett et al. 2021: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles... Rogers: https://www.woodinglab.org/_files/ugd... Lieberman 2015: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1... Kvavadze et al. 2009: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1175404 Gilligan: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles... University of Sydney: https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinio... Harvard report on Shwartz et al. 2020: https://hscrb.harvard.edu/news/the-re... Bergfjord et al. 2010: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1186345 Kvavadze et al. 2010: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1187161