PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Kvavadze, Eliso AU - Bar-Yosef, Ofer AU - Belfer-Cohen, Anna AU - Boaretto, Elisabetta AU - Jakeli, Nino AU - Matskevich, Zinovi AU - Meshveliani, Tengiz TI - 30,000-Year-Old Wild Flax Fibers AID - 10.1126/science.1175404 DP - 2009 Sep 11 TA - Science PG - 1359--1359 VI - 325 IP - 5946 4099 - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/325/5946/1359.short 4100 - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/325/5946/1359.full SO - Science2009 Sep 11; 325 AB - A unique finding of wild flax fibers from a series of Upper Paleolithic layers at Dzudzuana Cave, located in the foothills of the Caucasus, Georgia, indicates that prehistoric hunter-gatherers were making cords for hafting stone tools, weaving baskets, or sewing garments. Radiocarbon dates demonstrate that the cave was inhabited intermittently during several periods dated to 32 to 26 thousand years before the present (kyr B.P.), 23 to 19 kyr B.P., and 13 to 11 kyr B.P. Spun, dyed, and knotted flax fibers are common. Apparently, climatic fluctuations recorded in the cave’s deposits did not affect the growth of the plants because a certain level of humidity was sustained.