Archaeologists working in dry caves in Oregon have reported what appears to be the oldest known physical evidence of sewn hide. The find comes from Cougar Mountain Cave, where two small pieces of animal skin lay joined by a strip of cord. Radiocarbon dates place the objects between about 12,900 and 11,700 years ago, during the Younger Dryas, a cold phase near the end of the last Ice Age.
The hide fragments form part of a large group of perishable tools and materials recovered from Cougar Mountain Cave and the nearby Paisley Caves. Researchers analyzed 55 artifacts made from plant and animal materials and obtained 66 radiocarbon dates. The items represent at least 15 plant and animal species. Organic objects rarely survive for so long, yet the caves stayed dry for thousands of years, which preserved fiber, wood, and skin.
The sewn hide pieces show clear stitching. Researchers think the fragments belonged to clothing or flexible gear such as footwear or shelter covers. Bone needles with eyes have turned up at four sites in the region, and these tools rank among the finest known from the Late Pleistocene. Together, the needles, cordage, and hide point to well-developed sewing traditions in western North America near the end of the Ice Age.
Plant fiber technology appears throughout the collection. Archaeologists recorded cords of different thicknesses and twists, which suggests a range of uses. Twined fragments indicate weaving methods suited for nets, bags, or mats. At Paisley Caves, the team recovered a strip of rabbit fur with hair still attached. The piece resembles rabbit skin garments documented among Northern Paiute communities in recent centuries, where many pelts were woven together with plant fiber to form warm robes or skirts.
Animal remains from nearby sites add context. At two locations within about 100 kilometers of Paisley Caves, large fire pits have yielded more than 14,000 rabbit bones and almost no bones from other animals. Such concentrations match recorded communal rabbit drives, where groups used long nets to funnel animals into confined spaces for mass capture. These events supplied meat and fur. Smaller-scale trapping likely continued through the year, supported by wooden artifacts from the caves which resemble parts of simple deadfall traps.
Climate shifts help explain the need for tailored hide clothing. During the Younger Dryas, temperatures dropped in many regions, and wetter conditions supported marshes and lakes in the Great Basin. Cold weather increased the value of fitted fur garments. After about 11,000 years ago, as climate grew warmer and drier, the archaeological record in the region shows more plant-based textiles and fewer bone needles. Lighter woven materials replaced heavy hide clothing for much of the year.
The Oregon finds provide direct evidence for complex organic technologies at a time when people spread across varied environments in the Americas. Sewing, cord making, net production, and small game mass harvesting formed an integrated system which supported daily life in cold and changing conditions. These materials offer rare physical traces of how Late Pleistocene communities combined animal and plant resources to meet basic needs.
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