Clothes From 9,000 Years Ago Were Made From Trees
Çatalhöyük is a very large Neolithic Age and Chalcolithic Age settlement in Central Anatolia, which was a settlement 9 thousand years ago. The 9000-year-old specimens found here are some of the earliest known woven fabrics. It was previously determined that the Stone Age textiles in this region were wool or linen. The use of wool was supported by the presence of sheep skeletal remains found in the area.Seven of the weaving and yarn samples found at Çatalhöyük were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
The presence of knots indicating a plant fiber was detected. However, the other features were not linen features but oak bark features. Bast fibers sit between the layer of bark and wood in trees, and are commonly sourced from willow and linden trees, in addition to oak. Importantly, timber from oak was used in the construction of some Çatalhöyük dwellings, which shows these people were no stranger to the tree.This result is consistent with the near absence of flax seeds at Çatalhöyük, and suggests there was no need for the importation of fibres from elsewhere.Linen, Linaceae family for its fibers and seeds for 5000 yearsIt is an industrial plant known to be grown. Looking at the history of the settlement, it is understood why oak bark was used. Oak was naturally abundant in the region and did not need cultivation.
These findings shed new light on early textile production during the Stone Age in this region and provide strong evidence that bark played a more important role than previously known.
The studies of A. Rast-Eicher, S. Karg, Lise Bender Jørgensen were used.
