樹皮布是人類文明發展過程中重要的一環。在經緯編織技術、以麻和木棉作為紡織材料的製衣方法出現之前，人類以樹皮的纖維製作衣服。樹皮布的製作工序是經過漂洗、曬乾、拍打技術加工等製成可蔽體和保暖的衣服，與紡織品不同。

樹皮布最早出現於新石器時代，中國、東南亞 、大洋洲，以及美洲在製作樹皮布方面均有悠長的歷史。由於木質材料難以保存，因此現今的考古工作主要以研究製作樹皮布的石拍工具為主。在中國的海南省保亭黎族苗族自治縣中的黎族便是其中一個以樹皮纖維製作布料的民族。根據香港中文大學鄧聰博士於1997年發表的文章〈古代香港樹皮布文化發現及其意義淺釋〉指出，樹皮布衣服極有可能是起源於南中國，特別是嶺南地區，即海南省、廣東省和廣西省。於環珠江口一帶發現的大量樹皮布石拍是年代最久遠的，製成時間約距今5,000—6,000年前的新石器時代。相較距今約3,500—4,000年的越南北部、泰國、馬來半島的樹皮布文化；距今3,500年之後的大洋洲島嶼的樹皮布文化和距今不超過2,500年中美洲樹皮布文化而言，可見中國很大程度上是樹皮布的起源地，嶺南先民亦可能是樹皮布的始祖。

海南島黎族樹皮布主要分佈在中南部黎族集聚區，包括三亞、五指山和東方等市及瓊中、保亭、陵水、樂東、昌江和白沙等縣。黎族先民用作製作樹皮布的樹皮種類繁多，包括厚皮樹、黃久樹、箭毒樹、構樹（古稱「樹」，學名為楮樹 ）等。樹皮布的製法分為七個步驟：剝取樹皮、用石拍敲打樹皮、將樹皮放在水中浸泡脫膠、漂洗、曬乾、拍打成片狀和縫製出加工好的樹皮布。先民會把加工好的樹皮布剪裁縫製成帽子、枕頭、被子、上衣、裙子、兜卵布和口袋等生活用品。

根據現存的歷史文獻，黎族樹皮布是島上先民在「無紡織」時代用以蔽體的粗纖維布，由樹皮布製成的衣冠產品在古代文獻中有谷布衣、楮冠等：西漢博士韓嬰所著的《韓詩外傳．卷一》中提及孔子的兩位弟子——辭官隱居的原憲在面見儒商之祖子貢時頭戴楮冠，楮冠就是用楮樹皮造的帽子，多為貧士、隱士之用，這記載被視為是中華詞匯中對樹皮布製品的最早描述。清代1752至1754年間，在瓊州定安縣任知縣的張慶長透過實地考察掌握了許多第一手黎族資料，繼而撰寫了詳細記錄黎族習俗、生活習慣的《黎岐紀聞 》。其中《黎岐紀聞》 亦有對樹皮布作描述和定義：「生黎隆冬時取樹皮捶軟，用以蔽體，夜間即以代被。其樹名加布皮，黎產也。」一句明確指出了樹皮布的製作方法，是以工具將樹皮捶軟製成布。

然而，在棉紡織技術出現後，以樹皮製作布的情況大大減少。樹皮布製作因工序繁多，而且世界進入工業時代，人們所穿的衣服都由機器製作，樹皮布和石拍都只能在博物館中找到。目前為止，只有極少數黎族族人擁有祖傳下來的樹皮布製成品，但不知其做法，年輕一代更甚少聽過樹皮布。因此為了這流傳多年但逐漸式微的製作技藝能被及時保存，並加以推廣、承傳，海南島黎族樹皮布成功於2006年列入第一批國家級非物質文化遺產名錄。

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Bark cloth is an example of the ingenuity of humans in creating clothing for themselves. Before the invention of warp knitting technology and the use of kapok and jute as the knitting materials, the Li nationality of Hainan Province used fabric made of bark to make clothing. By beating the bark with a stone beater with ridges and grooves, the fiber of the bark would loosen and soften.  Such bark cloth was used to make clothes, sheets, hats, and so forth.

Bark cloth can be traced back to the Stone Age, and the world’s bark cloth culture originating in South China. Bark cloth, as an organic compound, is perishable and uncommon to find in archaeological excavation. However, archaeologists and historians can study the tools that produced bark cloth, specifically stone beaters.  The oldest stone beater in the world was dated back to over 6,000 years ago, and was found in the Bay Area of the Pearl River Estuary in China. It is believed that bark cloth culture was then spread to North Vietnam, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, and even Central America.

The use of bark cloth is mainly distributed in the south-central part of the Li Nationality’s sphere of habitation, including cities like Sanya, Wuzhishan, Dongfang, and provinces like Qiongzhong, Baoting and Lingshui. The Li ancestors found that various kinds of barks could be made into bark cloth, such as Lannea grandis, Huangjiu tree, antiar, and paper mulberry tree. There are 7 steps in the process of making bark cloth: peeling, trimming, immersing the bark in water to be degummed, rinsing, drying, beating the park, and then sewing the pieces together.  

Although bark cloth is hard to preserve, there are references to it in historical texts. “Paper mulberry hats” and “grain husk clothes” are mentioned in ancient books. In Han Shi Waizhuan (a collection of 300 anecdotes and stories that are related to Shi Jing), written by Han Ying, it is recorded that Yuan Xian, student of Confucius, was wearing a paper mulberry hat when he met Duanmu Ci, another student of Confucius. It is deemed as the very first written record of bark cloth in history. In Qing dynasty, Zhang Qingchang, the Zhixian of Qiongzhou, observed first-hand the traditions of the Li nationality by visiting them, and thus wrote the Li Qi Ji Wen (Records on Li Nationality). It recorded that the Li people used bark cloth for clothes and quilts to keep warm.

Although not immediate, bark cloth eventually was replaced by cotton and hemp materials. Only a few of the Li people have kept bark cloth products that are handed down from their ancestors, but the manufacturing techniques have been lost in transmission. The younger generation may not even have heard of bark cloth.