Something from Nothing: Making Cordage from the Garden

My father was an anthropologist, and I grew up seeing his teaching collections. As a child with textile tendencies, I was always fascinated by the bundles of cordage and the baskets and mats made with them.

We know that cordage has existed for tens of thousands of years, and the earliest archaeological evidence I could find for it in the literature I reviewed was fired clay bearing impressions of cordage from 28,000 years ago. The earliest actual remains of cordage I read about were from 17,000 years ago.

Cordage has long been a vital part of human civilization, and even today we are surrounded by it: cords used as drawstrings in waistbands and backpacks, twine used to tie up bean plants in the garden, and even the cord on your shower pouf. Without cordage, how would we have invented nets and snares for hunting, bags for carrying things, or ropes for making tents? It is fundamental to our lives.