The discovery was made by a team of archaeologists from the University of Tübingen in Germany, who analysed a piece of rope found at the Hohle Fels cave in the Swabian Jura mountains.
The rope is made from wild flax fibres, and is the oldest known example of twisted cordage in the world.
The archaeologists were able to determine how the rope was made by studying the microscopic structure of the fibres. They found that the fibres had been twisted together in a Z-twist, which is the same direction that rope is twisted today.
The researchers believe that the rope was used for a variety of purposes, such as lashing tools together, carrying objects, and as a net for fishing.
The discovery of this rope provides new insights into the technological capabilities of early humans, and shows that they were more advanced than previously thought.
