Clothing lice

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In this photo taken Nov. 4, 2010, University of Florida researcher David Reed is lead investigator on a five-year study following the evolution of lice that found modern humans first began wearing clothes about 170,000 years ago, a technology which enabled them to successfully migrate out of Africa. Reed, assistant curator of mammals at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus, is pictured in front of the museum’s “Northwest Florida: Waterways and Wildlife” exhibit. The loose-fitting clothing worn by Native Americans depicted in the exhibit is similar to garments lice would have first inhabited about 170,000 years ago.

(Photo by Jeff Gage, Florida Museum of Natural History)
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