Prehistoric Textiles: The Development of Cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with Special Reference to the Aegean

Description

Provides information on the origins and early development of textiles in Europe and the Near East. Using linguistic techniques, along with methods from palaeobiology and other fields, this book shows that spinning and pattern weaving began far earlier than has been supposed. It tells how it was more culturally significant to prehistoric cultures.

E.J.W. Barber is Professor of Linguistics and Archaeology at Occidental College and is a handweaver. Prehistoric Textiles won the Millia Davenport Publication Award of the Costume Society of America.

Winner of the 1993 James Henry Breasted Prize, American Historical Association Winner of the 1992 Davenport Publication Award "This monumental study embraces linguistic and archaeological investigations, practical knowledge of weaving, palaeobiology, and other arcane sciences to trace the development of cloth."--Washington Post Book World "Packed full of useful and intriguing information ... also remarkably well written. This conjunction of virtues advances archaeological understanding of textiles and their social and cultural implications a giant step."--Trudy S. Kawami, Science "An exhilarating book. As the first comprehensive account of one of humanity's oldest industries, it will be a basic tool for archaeologists..."--Helen Hughes Brock, Antiquity