Plant-fibre cordage (linen rope)
Cordelería de fibra vegetal (cuerda de lino)
- Date
- c. 7200 BCE · confidence high
- Place
- Nahal Hemar Cave, Judaean Desert, Israel
- Credited to
- PPNB communities of the southern Levant
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Cords, nets and baskets of twisted, knotted flax preserved by the arid climate, with already mature knotting and eyelet techniques. Cord is the simple machine that allows hoisting, binding, hauling and sailing.
Cordage is Palaeolithic; Nahal Hemar documents its first version made from cultivated fibre.
What it led to
- Transport and lifting of loads: monuments, livestock, boats
- More effective fishing and hunting gear
- Fibre technology leading on to spinning and weaving
Built on
- Fishing net with floats and sinkersc. 8300 BCE
- Flax domestication and linenc. 7000 BCE
- Upper Palaeolithic cordage (Lascaux, Hohle Fels)
- Flax cultivation