8 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Jordan Valley Reveals Earliest Cotton Use in the Ancient Near East

During excavations at Tel Tsaf, a 7,000-year-old town in the Jordan Valley, Israeli archaeologists discovered the earliest evidence of cotton in the ancient Near East.

An excavation led by Prof. Danny Rosenberg of the University of Haifa discovered the earliest cotton fiber use evidence in the ancient Near East and one of the oldest in the world at Tel Tsaf, an archaeological site in the central Jordan Valley, southeast of Beit Shean.

Cotton fibers discovered at Tel Tsaf predate the evidence discovered so far by several hundred years, and they most likely traveled thousands of kilometers from the Indus Valley region, present-day Pakistan.

Tel Tsaf flourished during the transition period between the small agricultural societies and the large urban cities of the country, said Prof. Danny Rosenberg of the University of Haifa’s Zinman Institute of Archaeology.

“Tel Tsaf is a site with amazing preservation of organic materials,” Prof. Danny Rosenberg of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa told The Times of Israel on Sunday.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Tel Tsaf – remains of olive pits Photo: University of Haifa

Textiles made of organic materials degrade over time, so archaeologists have few examples to study. Even after a textile has disintegrated over time, the fibers may still be present in the surrounding sediment. New technologies are allowing archaeologists to study microscopic amounts of organic remains in unprecedented detail, including determining whether or not the fibers were woven.

Studies were conducted in collaboration with researchers from Stanford University, and the State Museum in Hanover.

Before, historians had assumed that fabrics in this area during the prehistoric eras were primarily made from other plant matter, such as flax and linen, and, thousands of years later, from products from animals, such as hair or wool. Since cotton was not native to this area, it was a surprise for researchers and points to Tel Tsaf’s importance as a global trade hub.

“Textiles are so imperative to our life,” Rosenberg said. “In prehistoric time, [textiles] were involved in other things, not just clothing, but also hunting and fishing… It’s something larger than just, ‘Hey, these are the clothes they used to wear.’ It involves more of the economic practices of prehistoric people.”

Tel Tsaf – a view of Jordan. Photo: University of Haifa
Tel Tsaf – a view of Jordan. Photo: University of Haifa

Rosenberg also said they can’t state for sure that the cotton came from the Indus region, but it’s their best hypothesis given that the only other place to develop cotton in the ancient world was in Africa — and not until thousands of years later.

Tel Tsaf, which flourished 7,200 years ago in the valley of the springs near Kibbutz Tirat Zvi, was a large settlement with hundreds of people living there. The settlement thrived for about 500 years, and one of the great mysteries is why the settlement ceased to exist at the site, despite no signs of distress or scarcity of resources.

This will be one of the topics that researchers plan to invest a lot of effort into in the years to come.

Cover Photo: Archaeologists excavate a room at Tsaf where researchers discovered remains of 7,000-year-old cotton fibers. Photo: University of Haifa

Related Articles

A Fig Dating Back Over 2,000 Years has been Discovered in North Dublin – A First of Its Kind for Ireland

28 November 2024

28 November 2024

The discovery of a fig dating back 2,000 years during an archaeological excavation of Drumanagh in north Dublin, has been...

Archaeologists unearth 128 ancient urn burial tombs for children in north China

22 November 2021

22 November 2021

Archaeologists have uncovered urn burial chambers containing the remains of 128 infants among the ruins of an ancient city of...

Neanderthals too may have Developed a System of Numerical Notation

2 June 2021

2 June 2021

People developed numbers tens of thousands of years ago, according to archeological findings. Scholars are now investigating the first comprehensive...

A Gold Mourning Ring Found on The Isle of Man

21 April 2021

21 April 2021

The ring found with a metal detector on the Isle of Man in December 2020 will be exhibited in the...

2000-year-old dagger reveals the site of a long-forgotten battle between the Roman Empire and tribal warriors

16 December 2023

16 December 2023

In Switzerland, a volunteer archaeologist and dental student Lucas Schmid discovered in 2019 a 2000-year-old silver and brass dagger. It...

Irish archaeologists discover a rare 1,600-year-old idol in the Roscommon bog

13 August 2021

13 August 2021

A 1,600-year-old wooden pagan idol has been discovered in a bog in Co Roscommon by Irish archaeologists. This rare artifact...

Archaeologists may have Found a Viking Age Marketplace in Norway

21 February 2024

21 February 2024

Archaeologists from the University of Stavanger have identified the possible remains of a marketplace from the Viking Age on a...

The Discovery of nobleman Khuwy could rewrite Egypt history

25 October 2021

25 October 2021

The mummified corpse of an ancient Egyptian nobleman named Khuwy, discovered in 2019, showed the ancient Egyptians were carrying out...

One of the largest mass burial pits ever discovered in the UK has been unearthed next to Leicester Cathedral

21 November 2024

21 November 2024

While excavating the gardens of Leicester Cathedral for the future construction of a learning center, archaeologists uncovered one of the...

Archeological park to be built at suburban Shanghai ancient ruins site in China

20 October 2021

20 October 2021

An archeological park will be built at the Qinglong Town ruins site of Baihe in Qingpu District as part of...

Volunteer archaeologists discovered a 1900-year-old silver military decoration in Vindolanda

17 June 2023

17 June 2023

Volunteer archaeologists have discovered a 1900-year-old military decoration (Phalera) that was awarded to distinguished soldiers and troops in the Roman...

Analysis of Butchered Bones, Somerset Pit Reveals Bronze Age Cannibalism

17 December 2024

17 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered the bloodiest massacre in early Bronze Age Britain and evidence of Bronze Age cannibalism. It is the...

Hundreds Of Mummified Bees inside their Cocoons from the Time of the Pharaohs found in Portugal

25 August 2023

25 August 2023

Hundreds of mummified bees inside their cocoons have been found on the southwest coast of Portugal, in a new paleontological...

Medieval Hub of Arts & Crafts Center discovered in Nola: The discovery could rewrite the history of early medieval Nola

23 August 2023

23 August 2023

On the outskirts of Nola, a district from the early Middle Ages has been discovered. According to the Soprintendenza Archeologia,...

1,600-year-old Hunnic double burial found in Poland

15 June 2024

15 June 2024

In 2018, archaeologists uncovered a 1,600-year-old double burial in the village of Czulice near Krakow, Poland, containing the remains of...