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A feature of nearly all modern human societies is the wearing of clothing or clothes, a category encompassing a wide variety of materials that cover the body. Probably originating in the neolithic age, as mentioned below, the primary purpose of clothing appears to be functional, as a protection from the elements. Clothes also enhance safety during hazardous activities such as hunting and cooking by providing a barrier between the skin and the environment. Clothes incidentally also provide a hygienic barrier, keeping toxins away from the body and limiting the transmission of bacteria and viruses. Clothing use roughly contemporary with the use of furniture, and reducing feces in the shared environment may have had survival advantages (See evolutionary psychology). Outside of their purely functional purpose, clothes often play an important social and cultural 'signaling' role (e.g. easily identifiable police and army personnel). Most societies develop norms about modesty, religious practices, behavioral appropriateness, social status, and even political affiliations in which clothes may possibly improve the probability of that society's survival prospects. Finally, clothing functions as a form of adornment and an expression of personal taste or style, on which caprice the vast modern fashion industry prospers.Throughout history clothes have been made of materials ranging from leather and furs to elaborate and exotic natural and synthetic fabrics. Some recent scientific research estimates that humans have been wearing clothing for as long as 650,000 years.[1].Articles carried rather than worn (such as purses, canes, and umbrellas) are normally considered fashion accessories rather than clothing, but hats and small dress sweaters can be called either clothing or accessories.[citation needed] Jewelry and eyeglasses are usually considered as accessories ,[citation needed] even though in common speech these particular items are described as being worn rather than carried. |
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