They made the needles of a hard bone which they took from the leg of a horse. They traced out the lines they wished to cut just as Flaker traced the harpoon. Then they sawed out slender rods and whittled one end to a point. The other end they made thin and flat, for this was the end where the hole was made.
A flint comb used in rounding and polishing needles.
They made the rods round and smooth by drawing them back and forth on a piece of soft sandstone. This made long grooves in the sandstone, which became deeper and deeper every time the sandstone was used. Then they polished the rods by drawing them back and forth between the teeth of a flint comb.
A flint saw used in making needles of bone taken from the leg of a horse.
The first needles had no eyes. They were more like awls and pins, than needles. Perhaps the first eyes were made in needles to keep them from getting lost.
It was hard work to saw the bone rods and to round and polish them. No wonder the women did not want to lose them. No wonder they bored little holes in the thin flat end and hung them about their necks.
A short needle of bone.