European Basket-Making Is at Least 9,500 Years Old, When It Was Used to Hold Hunter Gatherers' Valuables

Humans have been using baskets, bags, and other household items for tens of thousands of years. Learn more about the vital role they've played in our evolutionary history — and what scientists are still learning from them today.

By Conor Feehly
Nov 23, 2023 7:00 PM
2 ancient wicker baskets in the forest
(Credit: Giffany/Shutterstock)

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There isn't a corner of the globe where you can't find people living. Even in some of the most extreme environments on the planet, people manage to get by, largely thanks to the innovations of technology.

It's easy to take these technological innovations — which have facilitated our dispersal throughout the world — for granted. In fact, common items like baskets, bags, pottery, and woven string were once considered innovative, even though they might seem humble compared to the technologies being developed today.

Still, the deeper we dig into the evolutionary origins of technology like baskets, the more archaeologists are learning about how important those household items were to our success and species.

Why Were Baskets So Important to Human Evolution

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