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Artist's reconstruction of a woolly dog by Karen Carr (The Conversation) and the pelt of Mutton, a Coast Salish wool dog who died in 1859. (Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution/ Science)

Mutton’s Legacy: The Last Woolly Dogs of the Americas

By Audrey T. Lin, Chris Stantis, Logan Kistler/The Conversation Dogs have been in the Americas for more than 10,000 years. They were already domesticated when they came from Eurasia with the first...
The oldest piece of tartan ever found in Scotland was created in the 16th century. Source: Alan Richardson / V&A Dundee

Peat Bog Yields Oldest Known Scottish Tartan Fabric

A thin but intact square of old fabric removed from a Highland peat bog four decades ago is likely the oldest tartan ever found in Scotland, a new battery of tests has revealed. It is estimated that...
The so-called world’s oldest trousers discovered in China’s Tarim Basin used different textile techniques for different parts of the trouser fabric. Source: M. Wagner / Archaeological Research in Asia

World’s Oldest Trousers Used Methods Still Employed by Modern Fashion

Back in 2014, a pair of pants were discovered in the Tarim Basin in China. Believed to be the oldest pair of trousers in the world, they were made between 3,000 and 3,300 years ago. Dating back to...
A Scandinavian woman working on a embroidery pattern modern times, which must have been quite similar to Viking embroidery in the Viking Age.

Rare Viking Embroidery Found in 1000-Year-Old Grave in Norway

A piece of textile fabric from a grave, dated to the Viking Age, has been found in southern Norway, dated to 850-950 AD. The grave of a woman was uncovered at Hestnes in southern Trøndelag county,...
Archaeologists Strike 3000-Year-Old “Royal Purple” In Israel Dig

Archaeologists Strike 3000-Year-Old “Royal Purple” In Israel Dig

Rare 3,000-year-old samples of “royal purple” have been discovered at Timna dating to the biblical reigns of King David and Solomon. A team of researchers led by the Israel Antiquities Authority was...
Birka: The Mysterious Demise of a Majestic Viking Trading Center

Birka: The Mysterious Demise of a Majestic Viking Trading Center

The Viking Age in Europe brought a lot of key events and innovations, and greatly shaped the future of things that were to come. But there is a popular misconception that the Vikings were all about...
Byssus, Secrets of a Shining Sea Silk Loved by Ancient Cultures

Byssus, Secrets of a Shining Sea Silk Loved by Ancient Cultures

Byssus is an extremely fine, rare, and valuable fabric of animal origin. It is a sort of natural silk with golden and sparkling reflections that is obtained from the filaments secreted by a large...
5,300-Year-Old Textile Impressions Unearthed in Scotland

5,300-Year-Old Textile Impressions Unearthed in Scotland

The colorful threads, strings, yarns, twines, and ropes that wove together the Neolithic world have greatly rotted back to whence they came, leaving archaeologists and anthropologists only grey stone...
Child's left-foot sock (British Museum)

Egyptian Tot's Sock Reveals Ancient Clothes Production Secrets

An ancient ‘stripy sock’ discovered in Egypt is informing scientists about how clothes were dyed and made. Evidence of ‘feet coverings’ have been found in the Stone Age when crude animal pelts or...
A micrograph of the spliced textile from Over barrow, Cambridgeshire. Credit: M. Gleba, S. Harris, with permission of Cambridge Archaeological Unit

Unraveling the Secrets of Bronze Age Thread: Textile Reveals Highly Advanced and Complex Process Used 3,800 Years Ago

A new study published this week in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences has identified that the earliest plant fibre technology for making thread in Early Bronze Age Britain and...
A cape made from Madagascar Golden Orb spider silk exhibited at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

World’s Rarest Textile is Made From the Silk of One Million Spiders

In 2009, what is believed to be the world’s largest and rarest piece of cloth made entirely from the silk of the golden silk orb-weaver was exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History in New...
A Malakulan spider web mask.

Museum Mix-up Creates a Sticky Mess: Spider Web Masks Did NOT Suffocate Widows

Spider webs are sticky, somewhat creepy, and generally not something you like to see in your house. But they are also intricate and beautiful when the right light hits them. Even more intriguing than...
The Exceptional Inscription on the Pokotia Monument – Evidence of Sumerian Script in Bolivia?

The Exceptional Inscription on the Pokotia Monument – Evidence of Sumerian Script in Bolivia?

There is a very intriguing inscription on the back of the Pokotia Monolith. What makes it stand out is that it was written in linear Sumerian. Even more exciting is that it provides further evidence...
Unravelling the Mystery of the Maronite Mummies: Why Were Medieval Mummies Hidden in a Cave?

Unravelling the Mystery of the Maronite Mummies: Why Were Medieval Mummies Hidden in a Cave?

When archaeologists found a cache of medieval mummies in a Lebanese cave, the amazing discovery took their breath away. The remarkably well-preserved bodies of eight people who were buried in Qadisha...
Fascinating Artifacts Unearthed in TWO Newly Discovered Neighboring Anglo-Saxon Sites in England

Fascinating Artifacts Unearthed in TWO Newly Discovered Neighboring Anglo-Saxon Sites in England

Preparations for two new Cambridgeshire housing development projects have uncovered a fine collection of precious ornamental items and weaponry from Anglo-Saxon times and rare Roman era domestic...
Think Your Blue Jeans Are Faded? Compare Them to This 6000-Year-Old Textile Found in Peru

Think Your Blue Jeans Are Faded? Compare Them to This 6000-Year-Old Textile Found in Peru

Although denim jeans in their modern form are an invention from the late 1800s, the process of dying cotton with indigo is a technique that dates back thousands of years. Previously acknowledged as...
Overland on the Ancient Silk Road.

Recent Textile Discovered in Nepal Sheds Light on How Far South the Silk Road Actually Extended

Thanks to a recent discovery in Nepal, it is now believed that the historic trade route known as the Silk Road extended further South than originally believed. The Silk Road extended from China to...
The ark that contains the Sudarium of Oviedo.

The Shroud of Oviedo: A Legendary Cloth Connected to the Death of Jesus

The Sudarium of Oviedo, also known as the Shroud of Oviedo is one of the most important relics of Christianity. It is believed to be a cloth which was wrapped around Jesus’ head after his death. The...
A fine wool textile dyed red and blue, found at Timna. The textile used the various colors of natural animal hair to create black and orange-brown colors for decorative bands.

Rare Artifacts in Timna Mine Provide New Insight on the Edomites

A team of archaeologists has discovered a collection of textiles of diverse dye colors and designs about 3,000 years old in an Edomite tin mine in Israel. Textiles this old are rare because they are...
The Tarkhan Dress.

Dated Fashion: The Tarkhan Dress, the Oldest Woven Garment in the World

A piece of clothing found buried in an ancient Egyptian cemetery has been identified as the oldest known dress and the oldest woven garment in the world. The item is known as the Tarkhan dress. It...
Detail of altar frontal (antependium}, France or Italy, 1730-1740. Silk satin with silk and metallic-thread embroidery, guipure and gaufrure.

Stitching the Story of Cutwork Embroidery, One of the Most Luxurious Goods in Europe

Different types of embroidery are known in the history of every single civilization. It seems that people liked to create beautiful personal adornments almost since the beginning of time. Cutwork is...
Hand-woven Mayan textiles from Guatemala

Weaving the World of Ancient Mayan Women

Weaving colorful cotton fabric was an art form among high ranking ancient Mayan women. The Mayas cultivated cotton and used natural dyes from plant, animal and mineral sources. They used spinning...