Archaeologists have unearthed six ancient stone artifacts near the shore of Lake Xiada Co in western Tibet. These artifacts, believed to be stone sewing needles, date back as far as 9000 years, making them potentially the oldest stone needles ever found.

The stone needles were stronger than those made of bone and may have been used to sew thicker materials, such as a tent. Credit: Yun Chen/Sichuan University

The discovery was made in 2020 during an excavation led by Yun Chen, a graduate student at Sichuan University. The artifacts, each about half the length of a golf tee with a pointed tip at one end and an eyelike opening at the other, resemble thick sewing needles. “I was shocked by their beauty,” Chen remarked about the intricate design of these objects.

Published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the study conducted by Chen and her team concludes that these artifacts are indeed stone sewing needles. This conclusion is based on the analysis of the needles’ materials and craftsmanship. The needles are made from tremolite, serpentine, actinolite, and talc, with tremolite being nearly 70 times harder than talc. The stones range in color from green to cream, and the meticulous crafting process involved scraping, grinding, and drilling to shape the needles and create the eye.

The researchers used ultra–deep-field microscopy and 3D modeling to study the needles, particularly Needle 1, the longest and thickest specimen. They discovered dense and deep scraping marks running along its length, covered by finer, multidirectional grinding marks. This pattern indicated that the needle was first scraped into shape and then ground to form a sharp tip, with the eye drilled at the top. The largest hole was 3 millimeters wide, and the smallest was 1.37 millimeters.

These bone and ivory needles discovered in Xiaogushan, China are between 23,000 and 30,000 years old. Credit: Smithsonian Insтιтution

To confirm their hypothesis, the team replicated the production process using tremolite slabs and obsidian. They recreated the telltale scraping stripes and grinding marks and found that drilling the eye took approximately five hours with a pointy obsidian drill. This process was significantly more time-consuming than making bone needles, suggesting that ancient Tibetans had specific reasons for using stone. According to Chen, “Since they were harder and thicker than bone needles, we concluded that these stone needles may have been used to sew thicker materials, such as a tent.”

Microscopic examination of Needle 6 revealed traces of vivid red paint rich in ochre pigment, indicating that the entire needle was once covered in red. This finding pushes back the first use of ochre on the Tibetan Plateau by 4500 years and suggests that these needles may have had cultural or symbolic significance. Red held deep religious importance for ancient Tibetans, believed to breathe life and energy into stone tools and ward off evil spirits.

Despite the compelling evidence presented by Chen and her team, not all researchers are convinced that the artifacts were used as sewing needles. Some researchers suggest that the objects could have been tools for weaving fishing nets, given their proximity to a lake. Alternatively, the needles might have been personal ornaments rather than functional tools. This theory is supported by the presence of talc, a soft material, found on the objects.

If these artifacts are indeed sewing needles, they would represent a significant advancement in early human technology. The advent of the “eyed” needle was a milestone in human civilization, allowing our ancestors to craft more durable and protective clothing and shelters, thus enabling them to explore and inhabit colder regions permanently.

The oldest known needles are made of bone, dating back approximately 50,000 years from Russia’s Denisova Cave. Until now, the oldest stone needles were about 2700 years old, found in Henan province in China. This new discovery pushes the timeline back by over 6000 years.

More information: Chen, Y., Hu, Y., Li, Z., Zhao, Z., Li, M., Ciren, C., & Lu, H. (2024). The world’s earliest ground stone needles: Archaeological evidence from the early Holocene of the Western Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports, 57(104610), 104610. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104610