Editing Braid (section)

== Hair braiding ==
{{Main|Braid (hairstyle)}}
The oldest known reproduction of hair braiding may go back about 30,000 years: the [[Venus of Willendorf]], a female [[Venus figurines|figurine]] estimated to have been made between about 28,000 and 25,000 BC in modern-day Austria.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/nude-woman-venus-of-willendorf.html|title=Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf)|website=khanacademy.org|access-date=1 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113094702/http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/nude-woman-venus-of-willendorf.html|archive-date=13 November 2014}}</ref> The [[Venus of Brassempouy]] from the southwest of France is estimated to be about 25,000 years old and shows a braided hairstyle.

Although many cultures want to take sole credit for the braid, they cannot be traced to a single origin. Like how different versions of Cinderella are traceable to nearly every culture, braids, too, are [[wiktionary:polygenetic|polygenetic]]. One early example of hair braiding takes place in 1279-1213 BCE as recorded in the story of Isis: "when some of the queen's maidens came to the well, she greeted them kindly and began to braid their hair."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baring |first=Anne |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28359877 |title=The myth of the goddess : evolution of an image |date=1993 |others=Jules Cashford |isbn=0-14-019292-1 |publisher=[[Arkana Publishing]] |location=London |oclc=28359877}}</ref>

During the [[Bronze Age]] and [[Iron Age]], many peoples in the [[Near East]], [[Asia Minor]], [[Caucasus]], [[East Mediterranean]] and [[North Africa]] are depicted in art with braided or plaited hair and beards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukhairdressers.com/history%20of%20hair.asp |title=The history of hair, hair styles through the ages |access-date=2007-04-29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070426145042/http://www.ukhairdressers.com/history%20of%20hair.asp |archive-date=2007-04-26 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://womenhairandhealth.com/25-latest-braids-hairstyles-2018/ |title=BRAIDS HAIRSTYLES 2018 |access-date=26 September 2018 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926171024/https://womenhairandhealth.com/25-latest-braids-hairstyles-2018/ |archive-date=26 September 2018 }}</ref> Similarly, the practice is recorded in [[Europe]], [[Africa]], [[India]], [[China]], [[Japan]], [[Australasia]] and [[Central Asia]].

Braiding is traditionally a social art.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} Because of the time it takes to braid hair, people have often taken time to socialize while braiding and having their hair braided. It begins with the elders making simple knots and braids for younger children. Older children watch and learn from them, start practicing on younger children, and eventually learn the traditional designs. This carries on a tradition of bonding between elders and the new generation.