Ancient People, Modern Beds

We tend to think of the bed as a (historically speaking) relatively recent innovation. Not even close.

Try 77,000 years ago.

That's the figure put forth by a group of archaeologists at a dig in South Africa. At a place called Sibudu, these scientists have discovered very, very old mats of grass and plants on the floor of a rock shelter. The people who crafted these beds covered them with wild quince leaves, which are naturally insect-repellent — further evidence that these were the Stone Age equivalent of bedrolls. (This theory is not as far-fetched as it sounds — certain indigenous people in Africa use these leaves for the same purpose.)

So the warriors of old weren't as rough-and-ready as we once thought. What's the big deal? Well, for the previous oldest bedding on record, you'll have to add about 37,000 years. We're talking way back in history for this new find.

The archaeologists found layer upon layer of bedding, suggesting that the people who once slept there did so repeatedly, either in sustained or in annual periods of time.

Now, we certainly don't have evidence of four-poster frames keeping that bedding off the ground. No, the bed-shaped collections of grass and leaves were certainly found lying on the ground. But the point is that the people who reclined on these "mats" were not lying on the ground. They were lying on something that made their sleep a bit more sound, thanks not only to the slight cushion and bit of warmth provided by the material but also the insect-free nature of the rest and recovery time.

The scientists discovered, in further evidence that this settlement wasn't a one-off, evidence of burned-off bedding. The wild quince kept certain pests away, to be sure, but the cave would have been home to a large number of species, any one of which would have found the bedding as appetizing as the people. When a mat had deteriorated enough to be unusable, the "residents" responded by crafting a new mat, not changing their address.