Archaeological Textile Research: Technical, economic and social aspects of textile production and clothing from Neolithic to the Early Modern Era (original) (raw)

This Habilitationsschrift (University Vienna) “Archaeological Textile Research: Technical, economic and social aspects of textile production and clothing from Neolithic to the Early Modern Era” reflects two decades of applied research on archaeological textiles and related sources. The motivation is to improve understanding of the role of textile production and textile products in the history of humankind. Embedding finds and their context information into socio-economical and cultural discourse contributes to a cultural anthropology of textile use. For pre- and protohistory in the region of Central Europe, it is a challenge that textiles are among those organic materials that are rarely preserved under the prevailing climatic conditions. Despite the scarcity of organic finds, nevertheless, for the studies of the author the analysis of actual textiles from archaeological contexts serves as main source of knowledge. This are mainly textiles from grave contexts that survived attached to metal artefacts, as well as textiles from saltmines. Minor importance for my research play waterlogged and dry conditions. Textile finds, together with tools, pictorial and written sources, yield information on the chaîne opératoire of textile production. Thus one of the research foci is to help identify different production processes and sequences such as preparing raw materials, making threads, weaving (and other methods of constructing fabrics), patterning and sewing techniques. Textile techniques and their uses in different periods of time are studied to gain information about developments in techniques such as inventions, innovations, traditions, and the various modes of production. This research about the technological aspects of textile craft is also set in context with the social and economic background of innovation in Central European Prehistory. The period from the 3rd to 1st millennium BC is specifically the focus of studies on textile technology. Besides textile technology, the most important research undertaken by the author are about functions, resource management, dress and identity, as well as creativity and design. The function of textiles in Prehistory and Antiquity is identified from context information and the properties of the textiles. Finds consist of clothing, soft furnishings, textiles used for technical purposes (e.g. linings of scabbards), including grave goods or textiles as tools (e.g. carry sacks in mines). Research about resource management, use, reuse and “recycling” addresses questions which are also important today. The same applies to the field of dress and identity and the social value of clothing and textiles from the Bronze Age to the Medieval era. The material can also be studied in terms of representation and appearance of textile surfaces and patterns, visual codes, creativity and design – such as the relevance for non-verbal communication.