Technical and Technological Analyses of Excavated Textiles

Abstract

Textiles are particularly complex and labor-intensive structures, thus their constructive elements, such as fibers and yarns, as well as the final textile products (e.g., threads, cords, fabrics, and applied decoration) reveal a range of important technical, technological, and sociocultural information. In this paper, we discuss the analysis of excavated textiles at two levels: 1) Technical analysis that offers basic information about the qualities of examined textile samples. 2) Technological analysis that provides insights into technology, social relations of production, and the level of craft specialization or production modes. Both analyses offer new evidence for environmental resources, sustainability, trade, and exchange, as well as transfer of technical knowledge, innovations, and expertise. Yet, excavated textiles, being formed of organic materials, survive poorly in archaeological contexts and thus represent environmentally limited remnants of the original pattern of textile consumption. Additionally, excavated textiles are often recovered in minute fragments, altered due to post-depositional processes and, therefore, their analysis is usually challenging. The scope of this paper is to provide an account of the current state of the technological analysis of excavated textiles looking back at its origins, and to offer a concise and clarified synopsis of the main methods and terms used to study and document the technological characteristics of excavated textiles.