From Minos to Midas : ancient cloth production in the Aegean and in Anatolia / Brendan Burke.

By:

Burke, B. (Brendan)

Material type: Text

TextSeries: Ancient textiles seriesPublication details: Oxford ; Oakville : Oxbow Books, 2010.Description: xv, 206 p. : ill., maps ; 25 cmISBN:

9781842174067
1842174061

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

338.4

Contents:

Framing the discussion -- Prehistoric textile production on Crete -- Cloth production in the Mycenaean world -- Gordion and Phrygian cloth production -- Comparative textile production and conclusions.

Summary: "This book examines over 2000 years of evidence for the organization of textile production in the Minoan, Mycenaean, and Phrygian worlds. Cloth is rarely preserved in the archaeological record, and the tools of production are not often a prime object of study in archaeological publications, yet most scholars agree it was a craft that can and should be studied. The unifying feature of this work is that the included data show some evidence for standardization and centralized production. The investigation here confines itself to three main sources of information - excavated craft residues (artifacts), administrative documents (seals, sealings, tablets), and, visual and literary culture, to illustrate the complex nature of cloth production, exchange, and consumption, and how developments in these reflect larger aspects of social organization. The author takes an explicitly economic approach to textile production, a social craft activity that was of greater value and importance to people in the past than the production of painted clay pots, metal tools, or carved luxury items: everyone depended on cloth. As with other craft goods, such as pottery, metal objects, and ivory carving, the large scale production and exchange of textiles required specialization and some degree of centralization. Textile production is labor intensive and involves the coordination of many different phases, including the mobilization of agricultural resources, the preparation of raw materials, skilled manufacturing, storage, and distribution. The study demonstrates that the multiple stages of production are best administered under the direct control of a regional economic center or palace."-- Publisher's description.

Holdings ( 1 )
Title notes ( 3 )

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Book - 7-day loan	CYA Library Main Collection	338.4 BUR (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		00000009765

Total holds: 0

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"This book examines over 2000 years of evidence for the organization of textile production in the Minoan, Mycenaean, and Phrygian worlds. Cloth is rarely preserved in the archaeological record, and the tools of production are not often a prime object of study in archaeological publications, yet most scholars agree it was a craft that can and should be studied. The unifying feature of this work is that the included data show some evidence for standardization and centralized production. The investigation here confines itself to three main sources of information - excavated craft residues (artifacts), administrative documents (seals, sealings, tablets), and, visual and literary culture, to illustrate the complex nature of cloth production, exchange, and consumption, and how developments in these reflect larger aspects of social organization.
The author takes an explicitly economic approach to textile production, a social craft activity that was of greater value and importance to people in the past than the production of painted clay pots, metal tools, or carved luxury items: everyone depended on cloth. As with other craft goods, such as pottery, metal objects, and ivory carving, the large scale production and exchange of textiles required specialization and some degree of centralization. Textile production is labor intensive and involves the coordination of many different phases, including the mobilization of agricultural resources, the preparation of raw materials, skilled manufacturing, storage, and distribution. The study demonstrates that the multiple stages of production are best administered under the direct control of a regional economic center or palace."-- Publisher's description.