Technology of Textile Production in the Past

Textile finds are extremely rare in the archeological record because they are made of decomposable materials of plant or animal origin. Therefore, the traces of textile-related activities can usually be identified among objects made of ceramic, stone, bone, and metal, that were used in the process of textile production. By studying such items, it is possible to create a basis for the reconstruction of textile production process, from raw material processing to finished product. In this context, the experimental archaeology as well as the ethno-archeological research become indispensable factors in the study of textile items because they allow the forming and verification of hypotheses about the techniques and tools used to make them. On the other hand, the study of technological processes in archaeology allows for a wider understanding of socio-economic aspects of community life in the past, so the reconstruction of the textile production process is an indicator of the form and development of certain economic activities such as trade, sheep farming, or plant cultivation for the purpose of textile production. At the same time, it indicates the issues of social organization and social and gender status of certain individuals as well as symbolic, religious, and aesthetic aspects of life in the past.

That is why the Center for Experimental Archeology launched the project Technology of Textile Production in the Past, with the purpose of reconstructing textile production processes during different archaeological periods. The project is aimed at studying archeological objects related to the textile production process by implementing systematic experiments based on their features and features of their original archaeological context. The present results of the project are presented in scientific papers and at professional and scientific meetings, while the wider public is well acquainted with the results through many popular science lectures and a series of workshops carried out within cultural-tourist manifestations and within pedagogical activities in museums.