Temporality, Materiality and Women’s Networks: The Production and Manufacture of Loom Weights in the Greek and Indigenous Communities of Southern Italy
2014
Textile production is one of the oldest craft activities practised in the
Mediterranean and beyond since the Neolithic period (Barber 1991).
Archaeological evidence, as well as iconographic representations and textual
sources, shows how most of the different activities consistent with textile
production, primarily spinning and weaving, were prevalently associated
with women in many ancient societies (Gleba 2009: 69). Despite the potential of this body of information, archaeological research has rarely focused
on textile activities and their accompanying equipment (but see Alfaro et al.
2011; Andersson Strand et al. 2010; Gillis and Nosch 2007; Gleba 2008;
Gleba and Mannering 2012; also Burke 2010 with full references for the
Aegean area). In particular, the tools for textile activities are quite neglected
in the archaeological literature, since they have rarely been the subject of
carefully analysis and study, although they provide fundamental information about textile production. Only recently have specific studies focusing on spindle whorls, bobbins and loom weights highlighted the role they
played in the different stages of the textile chaine operatoire and the clues
they provide for a better understanding of craft and cultural aspects of the
ancient societies and communities (Gleba 2009; Sofroniew 2011).
- Correction
- Source
- Cite
- Save
- Machine Reading By IdeaReader
0
References
0
Citations
NaN
KQI