An ivory artifact found in the Hohle Fels cave in southern Germany in 2015 has offered new insights into how prehistoric people used fiber technologies. The artifact, a 20-centimeter (8-inch) rod made from a mammoth tusk, was carved over 35,000 years ago and features four small holes with spiral grooves. Nicholas Conard, an archaeologist at the University of Tübingen, proposed that these grooves were used to twist fibers through the holes. Experiments using cattail fibers showed that the design helped align the strands, making it possible to create a rope in just 10 minutes. This discovery suggests that early humans had a sophisticated understanding of fiber manipulation. Archaeology often focuses on durable materials like stone and bone, which are more likely to survive the passage of time. However, this approach may overlook the importance of less durable materials like plant fibers and animal products. According to paleoanthropologist Emma Finestone, this bias creates a significant gap in our understanding of prehistoric life, as more than 90% of human activity may involve materials that do not last long enough to be preserved in the archaeological record. The oldest known human-made fiber is a six-millimeter-long piece of string found at the Abri du Maras rock shelter in France, made by Neanderthals about 50,000 years ago. This suggests that fiber use dates back much further, potentially to a time when modern humans and Neanderthals shared a common ancestor, over half a million years ago. Earlier evidence of fiber use comes from markings on stone tools in France and the Netherlands, dating back about 250,000 years. These markings suggest that cord was used to attach stone tools to handles, a technique known as hafting. Hafting was a significant technological innovation that allowed prehistoric people to use stone tools more effectively. By attaching stones to handles, they could transport them for tool-making, use snares and nets for hunting, and explore new foraging opportunities, such as climbing rope ladders to reach beehives. The production of cordage, however, was a time-consuming process that shaped the daily routines of ancient hunter-gatherers. Ethnographic studies of traditional societies, like the Wola people of New Guinea, show that making enough cord required considerable effort and was influenced by the seasonal availability of materials like pine bark, which dictated when and where people could work. In addition to fiber, other perishable materials like wood have been preserved in special conditions, such as the anaerobic environment at the Schöningen site in Germany. There, 300,000-year-old wooden spears were found, showing that prehistoric people used a variety of materials in their technologies. These discoveries highlight the complexity of prehistoric life and the integration of stone, plant, and animal resources in daily activities, challenging the idea that the Stone Age was defined solely by stone tools.