Textile Production and Consumption in the Ancient Near East: Archaeology, Epigraphy, Iconography ed. by Marie-Louise Nosch, Henriette Koefoed, and Eva Andersson Strand (review)

Frequently referred to as an "invisible technology," archaeologists and scholars have all too often ignored the significance of textiles in antiquity. Due to the poor preservation of organic materials, both fabrics and wooden implements used in textile production are rarely found in archaeological excavations. Therefore, archaeological study of textiles is limited to discoveries of non-organic tools, the functions of which are often disputed. Furthermore, modern conceptions of the marginal value of cloth and clothing have minimized scholarly interest.

Recent decades have witnessed some changes to this phenomenon largely due to the contributions made by the Danish National Research Foundation's Centre for Textile Research, of which the present volume is the twelfth in their Ancient Textiles Series. As one of this institute's multiple workshops, seminars, and projects promoting textile research throughout the world, the majority of the chapters in this volume are based on papers presented at the "Textile Production in the Ancient Near East: Neolithic Age—Bronze Age—Iron Age" workshop, held at the seventh International Congress on Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (ICAANE) on April 16, 2010, in London.

Recognizing the need to bring together knowledge from multiple sources in order to create a clearer picture of textiles and their impact on ancient societies, the editors have compiled a multi-disciplinary work that approaches the topics of textile production and consumption from various angles. This integration of archaeological, epigraphic, and iconographic research augmented by experimental studies is what makes this volume unique. Each study provides increased clarity to the complex understanding of the meanings behind textiles and the roles that they played in ancient societies. The diversity of studies presented here, clearly indicative of the many facets of quotidian activities focused on textiles in antiquity, facilitates the editors' objective of promoting "discussion of the economic, social and cultural impact of textiles on Ancient Society" (p. v).

The volume opens with an overview on the origins and developments of textile production research by C. Breniquet, "Functions and Uses of Textiles in the Ancient Near East: Summary and Perspectives." After summarizing the various sources for researching early textile production, she delves into the evidence for the earliest functions of textiles or fabrics, including the production and use of non-woven, or twined, fibers. She notes that the earliest fabrics were not necessarily used for clothing, based on early iconographic evidence showing humans scantily clad. The development of fabrics for use as clothing enabled hierarchical divisions within societies and the production of fabrics became a status symbol as clothing took on the attributes of the wearer. Cloth was traded or given as gifts while also defining social status. Breniquet's discussion of the domestication of sheep and the role wool and clothing played in the development of early chiefdoms in Mesopotamia raises several points concerning the economic value of textiles, which has not been sufficiently studied in previous textile studies, and are thought provoking.

The discovery of textile production tools in archaeological excavations can be extremely helpful in understanding the modes and scales of production followed by different cultures in various regions. Although this is not an innovative approach, in several cases, the authors utilize this methodology to answer new questions and understand different social relationships affected by textile production.

Scholars of the Chalcolithic period tend to focus primarily on copper, pottery, and lithic technologies, while largely overlooking the clues of a well-developed textile technology. Using the tools to tell the story of the development of textile production in the Ghassulian culture, J. Levy and I. Gilead, reconstruct the nature of textile production within this unique early agrarian culture in "The Emergence of the Ghassulian Textile Industry in the Southern Levant, Chalcolithic Period (c. 4500-3900 BCE)." Their study on the dispersion...