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"&amp;lt;img class=&amp;quot;aligncenter  wp-image-112059&amp;quot; src=&amp;quot;https://technology.inquirer.net/files/2021/09/morocco-map-08feb2021-620x413-1-470x313.png&amp;quot; alt=&amp;quot;Oldest bone tools for clothesmaking found in Morocco&amp;quot; width=&amp;quot;592&amp;quot; height=&amp;quot;394&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;\r\n\r\nRabat, Morocco &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;s1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;— &amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;Archaeologists in Morocco have identified clothesmaking tools fashioned from bone dating back 120,000 years, the oldest ever found, one of the researchers said.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a major discovery because while older bone tools have been found elsewhere, it&amp;#039;s the first time we have identified bone tools (this old) that were used to make clothing,&amp;quot; Moroccan archaeologist Abdeljalil El Hajraoui said.\r\n\r\nThe international team discovered more than 60 tools in Contrebandiers (Smugglers) Cave, less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the North African country&amp;#039;s capital.\r\n\r\nThey had been &amp;quot;intentionally shaped for specific tasks that included leather and fur working,&amp;quot; the team wrote in a study published in the journal iScience.\r\n\r\nThe discovery could help answer questions on the origins of modern human behavior, said El Hajraoui, a researcher at the National Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (INSAP).\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;Sewing is a behavior that has lasted&amp;quot; since prehistory, he told AFP.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;Tools like those discovered in the cave were used for 30,000 years, which proves the emergence of collective memory.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThe iScience paper predicted that &amp;quot;given the level of specialization of the bone tool material culture at Contrebandiers Cave, it is likely that earlier examples will be found.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThe team also discovered living spaces dug into the ground or built in the cave, as well as perforated seashells apparently used as ornaments.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;This was a cultural evolution that still needs study,&amp;quot; El Hajraoui said.\r\n\r\nMorocco has been the location of a number of significant archaeological findings, including on Wednesday when the country&amp;#039;s culture ministry announced that researchers in a cave near Essaouira, about 400 kilometers southwest of Rabat, had discovered a collection of about 30 shaped marine snail shells dating back as much as 150,000 years.\r\n\r\nIn a statement, it said they were &amp;quot;the oldest ornaments ever discovered.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThat followed an announcement in July when archaeologists revealed the discovery of North Africa&amp;#039;s oldest Stone Age hand-axe manufacturing site, dating back 1.3 million years.\r\n\r\nThe find pushed back by hundreds of thousands of years the start date in North Africa of the Acheulian stone tool industry associated with a key human ancestor, Homo erectus, researchers on the team told journalists in Rabat.\r\n\r\nIn 2017, the discovery of five fossils at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco, estimated at 300,000 years old, overturned evolutionary science when they were designated Homo sapiens."
<https://technology.inquirer.net/112058/oldest-bone-tools-for-clothesmaking-found-in-morocco>