Needle made of mammoth tusk

The needle has served one purpose throughout ancient times and nowadays– to fasten soft materials. As far as it is known, fabrics – products made of woven threads – did not exist 18-20 thousand years ago. Therefore, needles were used to sew hides of large and small animals as well as hides of large fish. Animal bones found on archeological sites prove that humans hunted for fur-bearing animals for their skins. The presence of needles finds indicate that humans had the skill to sew and could create clothes, bags, sew hides to shelter their homes, create canopies, bedding and other items needed in daily life. For the Upper Paleolithic, needles are only known from archeological sites with mammoth bones finds. Needles were always made from tusks. Most likely needles were widespread at that time, but they have not been preserved at all archeological sites. Needles finds are different in size, may or may not have an eyelet for attaching thread. In this particular needle, the part to fix the sewing thread has been lost: it could be either an eye or a groove for tying the thread. The surface of the needle is polished, the tip is sharp. Its size suggests that it could have been used for piercing and stitching hides of medium and small thickness. It probably wouldn't have been suitable to sew a mammoth hide.
This is a rare artifact at the sites of the Upper Paleolithic period in Northern Eurasia