To browse Academia. Textile and dress production, from raw materials to finished items, has had a significant impact on society from its earliest history. The essays in this volume offer a fresh insight into the emerging interdisciplinary research field of textile and dress studies by discussing archaeological, iconographical and textual evidence within a broad geographical and chronological spectrum. The thirteen chapters explore issues, such as the analysis of textile tools, especially spindle whorls, and textile imprints for reconstructing textile production in contexts as different as Neolithic Transylvania, the Early Bronze Age North Aegean and the Early Iron Age Eastern Mediterranean; the importance of cuneiform clay tablets as a documentary source for both drawing a detailed picture of the administration of a textile industry and for addressing gender issues, such as the construction of masculinity in the Sumerian kingdoms of the 3rd millennium BC; and discussions of royal and priestly costumes Louise Quillien and Kalliope Sarri Eds.
Oriental and European Archaeology 13, , While recent studies reveal more information about prehistoric textile technologies, most of them focus on the tools used in production. We tried to analyse the human f actor of the craft, the textile worker.
Several methods were used to study both the individual person as well as the communal connections within the craft. Information about the individuality of the prehistoric textile worker was difficult to obtain. However, studying the social and cultural aspects on a broader, more communal scale was more successful. The results gave an insight into the functioning of craft organisation and labour distribution.
We found clear indications of craft organisation within EBA societies. Spatial analyses revealed that textile production was performed by specialised craftspeople in certain designated areas.
The social and cultural role of the textile worker could not be completely illustrated. We could, however, discern that textile workers had a distinct social and cultural role within society. Moreover, the analyses helped us to find a promising focus for future studies in this area: the analysis of textile technologies and workers in comparison with other crafts as a social and cultural phenomenon embedded in broader historical developments in prehistory.
