Braiding has been around for longer than you might think. If you had long hair while you were growing up, your mother probably sent you to school with your hair in French braids. They were always just a little bit too tight, and you’d spend the morning tugging at them until they finally came loose.

But the history of braids goes well beyond our elementary school days. Different variations range across almost every culture in the world. There’s evidence that humans have been using braiding techniques for as long as 30,000 years. Some of the oldest depictions of humans in existence may have braided hairstyles.

Yep, that’s right: when your mom did your French braids, she was employing techniques that have been around since the Paleolithic Era.

Around the globe, braids are used in hundreds of different cultures. Some even have specific braids used to denote a single village or community. It’s amazing to think there are so many ways to do something as simple as weaving hair.

Not only are there many ways to braid hair, but also, many of these are indisputably art. Just take these 70 braided styles you probably didn’t know existed.