Bronze Age Textiles: Men, Women and Wealth

Description

In the ancient civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean, textiles were generally much more costly than foodstuffs, animals or bronzes; it is very likely that the same was the case throughout prehistoric Europe. In this study, the first for over seventy years, Klavs Randsborg examines completely preserved woollen dresses, both female and male, from Danish oak coffin graves of the early second millennium BC. These garments, matched in age and superb preservation only by finds from Ancient Egypt, along with related artefacts such as images and figurines, are used to build up a rich picture of Bronze Age society and culture in the context of archaeological, ethnographical and historical information from Europe and beyond.

Klavs Randsborg is Professor of World Archaeology, University of Copenhagen.

[T]he book accomplishes what it sets out to do, which is to start the debate on the economic and social importance of textiles during prehistory that goes outside the specialist realm. -- Magarita Gleba, University College London * The Historian *