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.