Many of the stone tools examined by archaeologists were used to cut, scrape, and chop plant materials such as wood. Since plant materials are seldom preserved, many tools probably existed that did not survive for archaeologists to discover. But sometimes we get lucky. Shortly after the discovery of the painted cave of Lascaux in 1940, excavations at the bottom of a natural shaft in the limestone floor of the cave produced one of the earliest-known fragments of rope. Made of three braided plant fibers, it had been transformed to humus, and its remains were preserved in a lump of clay seen here.
Cordage must have been technologically important and probably served a variety of tasks. People who know how to make cord can easily produce nets and snares, which increase hunting efficiency enormously. Of course, nets can also be effectively employed in fishing, which became very important after about 15,000 years ago.