FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REPORT
Oldest known sewn hide and other artifacts from Oregon caves shed light on early clothing in harsh climates

by Krystal Kasal, Phys.org
edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan
The GIST


View of Cougar Mountain Cave. Credit: Brent McGregor Illustrations and images of sewn hide and other hide items from CMC.

In 1958, an amateur archaeologist named John Cowles excavated the Cougar Mountain Cave in Oregon and retained many of the artifacts found there. Upon his death in the 1980s, these items were transferred to the Favell Museum in Klamath Falls. Finally, modern archaeologists are taking a closer look at these items along with a collection from the Paisley Caves, which includes ancient needles, braided cordage, and the oldest piece of sewn material ever found. Their research is now published in Science Advances.

The Cougar Mountain and Paisley Caves

The Cougar Mountain Cave (CMC) and Paisley Caves in central Oregon are Late Pleistocene archaeological sites with two of the most extensive assemblages of rare perishable artifacts. Perishable artifacts are rarely preserved due to their organic nature, but the desert-like conditions in central Oregon enabled preservation for very long periods.

The assemblages in these caves mostly date back to around 12,000 years ago—a time referred to as the Younger Dryas, in which an abrupt cooling event occurred. Prior to this period, temperatures were relatively warmer. Previous research overemphasized big-game hunting, neglecting other survival strategies and technologies. This is partially due to the lack of preserved perishable artifacts, and has resulted in limited knowledge of early human adaptation to colder climates. However, the Cougar Mountain Cave (CMC) and Paisley Caves offer a glimpse into how humans responded to climatic changes.




Large cordage and knotted bark from CMC. Credit: Rosencrance et al., Sci. Adv. 12, eaec2916

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