170,000 years ago: the birth of fashion.

• Position: Science - Ancient clothing - Brief article

While our early ancestors were probably not squeezing into skinny jeans, new research suggests they did care about clothes. A study from the University of Florida concludes that modern humans began wearing clothing 170,000 years ago, roughly around the same time as the second-to-last Ice Age, 180,000 years ago. Clothing enabled modern humans to migrate from Africa into colder climates, a major development for the species. So how did the scientists figure this out? By analyzing the evolution of lice and noting when head lice began to part ways genetically from clothing...