These bone awls were used to make holes in the skins before they were sewn together. — This ensured that the seam was straight and durable. The awls were found in Kongemosen in Western Zealand and are dated to 6000 BC.

Fur in Prehistory

Without fur it was difficult to survive in the northern world. In the Stone Age, fur was crucial for survival.

Fur-bearing animals provided food, and warm, windproof and waterproof clothing. Stone Age man used many different tools to prepare the skins.

When Bronze Age people began to make clothes from textiles, they continued using their old patterns. Fur clothing was sewn to the same patterns for many centuries. Fur was also imitated in cloth.

In the Iron Age, skin capes and shoes were important items of clothing. 4-6 sheepskins were used for a cape. Cow and goat hides were used for clothing, as well as skins of wild animals, like wolf and deer. In the Iron Age, both men and women wore capes of fur.

This little piece of skin from Tværmose in Central Jutland is the oldest preserved example of its kind from Danish prehistory. — The skin fragment is thin and finely made, with distinctive holes from a seam. It was found together with three beads of amber and 70 hazelnuts, which were strung on a string. The skin fragment can either come from fur clothing or from a skin bag. The find is dated to 3000 BC.

Fur cape made of sheepskin, found in Borremose in Northern Jutland. The cape is sewn together from seven larger - and twenty smaller - pieces in a symmetrical pattern. It is sewn together in the front and could be worn inside out depending on the weather. The cape was found with the bog body of a man, who lived in the centuries before Christ, 365-116 BC.

Flint scrapers were used to clean the skins. The large spoon-shaped scraper was found near Skotterup in Northern Zealand, and the other near Højrup on Stevns. They are dated to 2000 BC.