Humans started wearing clothes around 170,000 years ago which is during the second to last Ice Age.
The estimate of when humans started wearing clothes is based on the genetic analysis of lice, where clothing lice are also believed to have diverged from head lice around that time.
The harsh conditions of the Ice Age most likely drove the need for humans to wear clothing to stay warm and protected.
Current evidence also indicates that anatomically modern humans were actually naked in prehistory for at least 90,000 years before they invented clothing.
The primary evidence for the timeframe of when humans began wearing clothes is from the study of human lice.
Researchers have found that clothing lice or body lice also evolved from head lice around 170,000 years ago.
And this divergence also suggests that humans also began wearing clothes at this time, which also provided the lice for a new habitat.
Besides keeping humans warm, clothes also offer humans protection from insects, physical injuries and the sun.
And early humans may have also used the clothes for decorative purposes or even to signify their social status.
Also archaeological evidence, like tools for working with animal hides and sewing needles, also provide clues about the timing of clothing production, with some findings even dating as far back as 780,000 years ago.
Although these tools could also have been used for other purposes and not just making of clothing, such as making shelters.