Textile Remains Research Articles

Arslantepe, Malatya (Turkey): Textiles, Tools and Imprints of Fabrics from the 4th to the 2nd Millennium BCE

La production de textiles, l’une des plus anciennes activités artisanales, a joué un rôle majeur dans les sociétés. Pourtant, très peu de textiles archéologiques ayant été préservés, il faut travailler sur les restes d’outils liés à la production textile. Les auteurs de cet article analysent les outils datés de l’âge du Bronze couvrant ainsi une période de deux millénaires à Arslantepe. La taille et le poids des outils renseignent sur la production textile du site et montrent comment cette production a évolué au fi l du temps. Les trouvailles exceptionnelles de fragments de tissu permettent d’envisager les fibres et les techniques utilisées. Les restes archéologiques d’un tissu en poils de chèvre, d’une qualité exceptionnelle et datant du début du IIIe millénaire, témoignent d’une haute technicité de l’artisanat textile et de la fonction des outils.

An Analysis of Textile Fragments from the Janey B. Goode Site

Excavations at the Janey B.Goode site (11S1232), located in the American Bottom region of Illinois, yielded carbonized textile remains from two pit features dating to the Terminal Late Woodland period and from one pit feature dating to the Mississippian period. The remains comprise both twisted or braided cordage pieces and actual twined textile fragments ranging in size from 2×3 cm to over 9×9 cm. Four different twining techniques are represented: two types of compact twining and two types of space twining. All textiles appear to be constructed of bast fibers, probably from the outer part of herbaceous plant stems. The textiles are similar to those described from other Midwestern sites dating to the Woodland and Mississippian periods, reflecting the existence of a widespread fiber industry. In this paper, the textiles from the Janey B. Goode site and the production technology used to produce them are described.

박물관에서 분리된 세균에 대한 은행잎 추출물의 항균활성

The textile remains have been affected largely by environmental factors including microorganisms because they were composed of organic compounds to be easy to damage. So, we selected 8 strains of the 131 isolated strains from museum environments and textile remains by high pretense activity, and identified them for measuring the antibacterial activity of Gingko biloba extracts. They were identified Genus Arthrobacter spp. 3 strains (Arthrobacter nicotiannae A12, Arthrobacter sp B12, Arthrobacter oxidans B13), Cenus Bacillus spp. 2 strains (Bacillus licheniformis D9, Bacillus cereus D33), Genus Pseudomonas spp. 2 strains (Pseudomonas putida A24, Pseufomonas fluorescene C21) and a Genus Staphylococcus sp. 1 strain (Staphylococcus pasteuri D3) as closest strains through the blast search of NCBI. Though antibacterial activity of the extracts of Gingko biloba leaves as MIC was lower than that of other pharmaceutical antibiotics. However the extracts was crude extracts, the extracts might have good antibacterial against most of the isolates from museum. Especially, the antifungal activity of Gingko biloba is known previously, the extracts of Gingko biloba leaves has possibility of usage as a good natural material for conservation of remains.

국내 박물과 환경에 분포하는 미생물의 분리

We isolated and identified microorganisms from the aerial environment of domestic museums. The fungi, Penicillium spp., Alternaria spp., and Cladosporium spp. were isolated in many museums. It seems that these fungi are related to biological degradation of textile remains. A total of 14 kinds of bacterial strains were isolated: Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., Neisseria spp., Alcaligenes spp., Shigella spp., Klebsiella spp., Corynebacterium spp., Aerococcus spp., Bacillus spp., Micrococcus spp., Citrobacter spp., Erwinia spp., Salmonella spp., and Providencia spp. Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., Neisseria spp., and Alcaligenes spp. were the predominate bacteria found in samples with a variety of bacteria. This suggests that there is a relationship between bacteria and the damage of textile remains. In the museum, we isolated Alternaria spp, Geotrichum spp., Penicillium spp. Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., Alcaligenes spp. from the entrance, exhibit hall and storage, but they were found in smaller number and species in the exhibit cases and paulownia cases. We concluded that paulownia cases were not influenced by the microorganisms because of quality of care provided by the museum staff. Corynebacterium spp., and Bacillus spp. were not detected at the entrance and exhibit hall but were detected in paulownia cases. It is presumed that those bacteria did not flow in from outside, but resulted from contaminants in paulownia cases. In the distribution of microorganisms associated with textile remains, more fungi were detected than bacteria. Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., and Neisseria spp., were isolated from silk items. Penicillium spp. and Cladosporium spp. were isolated in the silk and hump items. Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. were isolated from the cotton items. On the other hands, there were no fungi strains in the wool items. Most of the isolated strains from textile remains were aerial microorganisms from the museum environment. These results suggest that textile remains were apt to contaminated by contact with the air.

Vestiges textiles et activités de filage sur le site néolithique d'Arbon-Bleiche 3 (TG, Suisse)

Between 1993 and 1995 the Arbon-Bleiche 3 (TG) site, located south-east of Lake Constance (Switzerland), yielded rich, abundant and remarkably preserved remains. Associated with a unique level of occupation, these remains provide an opportunity to study the activity of a neolithic village destroyed when still in full development. Burnt after 15 years of occupation, the village was definitively abandoned in 3370 ВС. Many artefacts and textile remains have been discovered, however the spindle-whorls drew the most attention. Admirably preserved, they are the most important series discovered for this period and highlight an often neglected aspect of the textile industry: spinning.

Textile remains from Eastern Arabia and new finds from Shakhoura (Bahrain) and ed‐Dur (Umm al‐Qaiwain, U.A.E.)

Introduction Textile remains in archaeological context from the Arabian peninsula are rare and these are usually in such a deteriorated state that the identification of the material is very difficult or impossible. Most of the documentation comes from metal objects on which small, largely decomposed textile remains or their impressions are preserved. This preservation is mainly due to the metal corrosion products which provoke a mineralization of the fibres (1). More rarely textile impressions are visible on clay objects (2). The oldest remains from the UAE come from circular Umm-an Nar-period tombs of the second half of the third millennium BC at Tell Abraq (3), on the border of the Sharjah and Umm al-Qaiwain Emirates and from three graves on Umm an-Nar Island (4), Abu Dhabi Emirate. Several fragments and impressions, ranging in date from the late third millennium to the Achaemenid period, have also been found at Qal’at al-Bahrain (5). Equally at Tell Khazneh (6) on Failaka Island (Kuwait) impressions figure on metal vessels which

Illerup – mellem Nordkap og Nilen

Illerup – between the North Cape and the NileFor fifty years, Forhistorisk Museum in Århus and later Moesgård Museum has provided the base for the work with the finds from the river valley of Illerup, which were first published in Kuml 1951. The excavations are long since finished and in a few years the whole find will be published and accessible to the public in an exhibition.In the search for explanations and parallels to the army equipment we have covered much ground, and what might have become a catalogue of finds with selected illustrations has developed into a study of the ancient world in the centuries around the beginning of the Christian era. It is already obvious that the scholarly adaptation so far is merely the beginning of investigations to which the only limit is our imagination. Analyses of the numerous artefacts have for instance taken us to Rome, where triumphal arches and other monuments boast weapons and belt outfit corresponding to the artefacts from the wetland areas of Southern Scandinavia (figs. 1-4). Other items have their parallels in Syria, Africa, or Northern England, and an overall evaluation shows that the Illerup find holds elements that reflect the culture in vast areas, Roman and Teutonic (figs. 5-10).According to the plan, the presentation and discussion of the topics that are naturally connected with certain find groups will be finished within a few years, and only then will it be possible to tackle the investigations into the more delimited problems, which have so far arisen from the work in progress.One example of this could be the DNA analyses that have developed in such a way during the last few years that they can be used for biological material from the wetland finds. Also, metallurgic investigations of iron and precious metal analyses have been initiated. While working with the shields, the wood of both boards and handles were identified, and the results caused the planning of supplementary studies, using for instance dendrochronology. Investigation into the textile remains of the find are also expected to yield new information. The results of recent bog find research may be used successfully in new analyses of bog finds from the 19th century. Engelhardt’s publications – outstanding as they might be – are subjective in as far as Engelhardt, according to contemporary criteria chose the finds that were to be described or depicted. The selection is not representative and has led to wrong in terpretations of the find contents. These im balances should now be corrected and the old bog finds made accessible in a satisfying manner, i.e. published and republished according to modern standards. As it has also turned out that the knowledge of the preservation conditions of the same finds is limited, future work should include investigations into the present state of the find sites.To solve the tasks mentioned through international cooperation, we are now planning a centre for Iron Age research at Moesgård, where from 2003 we can exploit an established network of scholars involved in the study of the Iron Age.Jørgen IlkjærMoesgård MuseumTranslated by Annette Lerche Trolle

Beyond cloth and cordage: archaeological textile research in the Americas

In recent years, archaeological textile research has undergone a major expansion in scope. Once primarily concerned with the simple description of fabrics, basketry, and cordage, textile researchers now routinely employ these highly perishable artifacts as windows into ancient cultural systems, using theoretical modeling, stylistic and structural analysis, and cutting-edge analytical technology to explore issues of production, exchange, ethnic identity, and social status.Beyond Cloth and Cordage is an overview of current research on New World archaeological fabrics. It demonstrates that textile data is a unique means of addressing questions of broad anthropological interest, as well as problems difficult if not impossible to resolve by other means. Contributing authors include senior experts and others whose work is breaking new ground in a variety of topics. Encompassing both method and theory, these include the recovery and care of textile remains, microanalytical methods, models of production and exchange, and inferences regarding social status, behavior, and ethnicity. The broad geographical scope includes case studies from northeastern North America, the Great Basin, the American Southwest, Mesoamerica, and Andean South America.

Dyes from the Tumilaca and Chiribaya Cultures, South Coast of Peru

During the terminal stages of the Tiwanaku state at the end of Middle Horizon, at least two new cultural groups appeared in the archaeological record of the coastal Osmore valley in southern Peru. The cultures are now known as Tumilaca and Chiribaya. Radiocarbon dating, as well as stylistic and technological comparison of textile remains, established the coexistence and close relationship between both cultures. Chemical and physical examination of textiles from both cultures was undertaken to gain a better understanding of the dyestuffs and techniques used. Attempts were made to identify dyestuff mordants by energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDXRF). Dyestuffs were analysed by the complementary use of UV-vis absorption spectrophotometry (UVAS), thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and a number of microchemical tests. Distinct differences were found in the dyestuffs and textile techniques used in both cultures.

WOOL AT DANEBURY: A SPECULATION USING EVIDENCE FROM ELSEWHERE

SummaryThe high proportion of sheep bones and the finding of implements used in cloth manufacture have led to suggestions that this Iron Age hill fort in Hampshire was a centre for wool cloth making. In the absence of textile remains from the site, evidence from other Iron Age sites with such remains is used to suggest that the sheep kept at Danebury are likely to have had mainly primitive hairy and primitive woolly fleeces with an annual moult and a range of colours. the absence of shears suggests a more primitive method of harvesting the wool. White wool and dyed textiles from the other sites indicates the possibility of dyeing. A reassessment of the textile implements suggests that the textile activity was no more than domestic production. the weight of the spindle whorls is discussed in relation to the sort of wool spun, but further experimentation is proposed to answer such questions as the true use of the “weaving” combs. the slingshots might have been hurled with a wool sling and not only at a human enemy or at game, but to control sheep flocks.

The Interpretation of Textile Production and Use by High and Low Status Caddoan Groups

AbstractThis paper demonstrates the application of technical studies of the fragmented remains of archaeological textiles to the reconstruction of past textile technologies and to the interpretation of the cultural phenomenon of status differentiation. The analyses of archaeological textile remains recovered from Caddoan burial contexts (Mississippian period) in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri provided information for the interpretation of differential production and use of textiles by high and low status groups within that prehistoric society of the southeastern United States. The research is based upon the characterization of specific textile attributes and burial context. The data sets utilized in the textile analyses include fabric structure, fabric scale, edge treatment, patterning, design, coloration, yarn structure, and fibers. Production complexity for each textile is assessed and then ranked using a recently developed textile production complexity index. Those specific textile attributes that appear to be most highly associated with status differences are identified using two different statistical procedures. Technological differences as well as textile utilization patterns between high and low groups are explored.

Etowah Textile Remains and Cultural Context: A Model for Inference

Archaeological textiles are products of decision making by early peoples and represent efforts to manage environmental, economic, and human resources for a variety of purposes. Their study must incorporate rigor, but the conditions of survival have hampered investigative efforts in the past. Recent applications of instrumental analyses have yielded more precise information which must be used correctly in order to reconstruct with accuracy the cultural use of textile products in the past. A theoretical framework and model are proposed for inferring cultural context from archaeological textile remains. The model incorporates two types of attribute analyses and burial site information to infer behavior and function in the cultural processes of early people. A partially mineralized fabric from Mound C, Etowah (EMC #840) was used to test the model's capabilities.

En hellenistisk møntskat fra Bahrain

En hellenistisk møntskat fra Bahrain

The Preservation of Textile Remains

In the course of certain investigations on the identification of cloth ash, it became necessary to develop a technique whereby relatively large (5 to 15 cm.) fragments of ashed cloth of all types woven from vegetable fiber could be permanently preserved.The requirements were that the preparations should be capable of withstanding the relatively rough handling of the laboratory. They should show the textile remains displayed flat with the yarns of the warp and weft in their original relations.