Tools tell tales – climate trends changing threads in the prehistoric Pannonian Plain

This study of prehistoric textile production on the Pannonian Plain is based on indirect evidence dated to the period between the 5th and 2nd millennium BC; the study of technological trends and changes that occurred in manufacturing traditions concentrates on fibre processing and production. The functionality analysis of spindle-whorls served as a basis for comparing textile production trends with the results of the climate change model. Climatic changes in the area were simulated by means of a moderate-resolution Global Circulation Model (GCM). The simulation covered the mid-to-late Holocene, from 7000 years BP to the pre-industrial period.Predstavljamo študijo izdelave tkanin v prazgodovini na območju Panonske nižine, ki temelji na posrednih dokazih, ki datirajo v čas 5. in 2. tisočletja pr. n. št.; pri študiju tehnoloških trendov in sprememb, ki so se zgodile v tradicijah izdelave tkanin, se osredotočamo predvsem na procesiranje in izdelavo vlaken. Analiza funkcionalnosti predilnih vretenc nam je služila za osnovno primerjavo med proizvodnjo tkanin in rezultati modela klimatskih sprememb. Klimatske spremembe na tem območju smo simulirali s pomočjo svetovnega modela cirkulacije (ang. GCM) pri srednji resoluciji. Simulacija pokriva čas med srednjim in poznim holocenom, torej od 7000 let pred sedanjostjo do časa pred industrijsko revolucijo

Bones for the Loom. Weaving Experiment with Astragali Weights

Kratki eksperiment tkanja održao se u Arheološkom muzeju u Zagrebu ne bi li se istražila funkcionalnost objavljenih astragala s Gomolave te raspravila njihova moguća upotreba kao utega za tkalački stan. Autorice su uspjele posuditi set od 15 astragala iz komparativne zbirke Zavoda za paleontologiju i geologiju kvartara HAZU u Zagrebu. Za napinjanje niti osnova tkanja iskorišteno je 14 astragala koji su postavljeni umjesto utega na vertikalni tkalački stan, konstruiran od strane Centra za eksperimentalnu arheologiju – CEKSA, u svrhu predstavljanja tehnika tkanja sudionicima i posjetiteljima radionice. Osnovna svrha pokusa bilo je testiranje moguće uporabe astragala, dok je dokumentiranje tkanja bilo stjecanje iskustva, s ciljem postavljanja određenih pitanja koja se odnose na proučavanje astragala. S obzirom na ograničenost vremenom, tijekom pokusa tkan je samo jedan komad tekstila. Petnaesti astragal poslužio je za jednostavan eksperiment namotavanja pređe.A short weaving experiment took place at the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb in order to test the functional nature of the published astragali from Gomolava site as well as to determine and discuss their potential for use as loom-weights. Authors managed to borrow a set of 15 astragali from the Institute for Quaternary Paleontology and Geology in Zagreb. They warped 14 of them on a vertical loom, built by the Centre for Experimental Archaeology – CEKSA, in order to demonstrate weaving techniques to the participants and visitors of the workshop. The main purpose of the experiment was to test their potential functionality, while recording the weaving experience, in order to raise some particular questions that should be addressed in the prospective research on the astragali bones. Being limited by time, during the experiment only a single piece of textile was woven. The fifteenth astragalus bone was used for a simple spooling experiment

Research into the Origin and Spread of Wool Production between the Near East and Central Europe

The objective of the research group Textile Revolution is to contribute to research on the still largely unclear introduction of wool production in later Neolithic and Chalcolithic societies from Western Asia to Central Europe. Since direct evidence of wool depends on rare conditions of preservation, a multi-proxy approach based on different kinds of indirect evidence was chosen. The previous history of research on early wool production as well as the domestication history of sheep are reviewed briefly. Anthropogenic impacts on the landscape, possibly related to intensified grazing, are one kind of indirect evidence that we take into account. For the later part of the presumably long-lasting development of wool production, written sources are available, the earliest of which date to the Late Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods (end of the 4th to beginning of the 3rd millennium BCE) in Mesopotamia. Indirect archaeological evidence consists of the tools used in textile production, among which spindle whorls and loom weights occur most frequently. Since they are not a priori specific to the type of fibre, be it linen or wool, statistical evaluations of metric data are necessary. Zooarchaeological analysis of large samples of animal bones from a wide spectrum of sites and time slices is a further crucial element of our multi-proxy approach. Both the demographic composition of herds and metric data indicating changes in animal size can yield indirect evidence for incipient or increasing importance of wool production. This article offers an overview of these different sources and methods, specific to the disciplines involved, and presents some preliminary results

Povratak u prošlost: bakreno doba u sjevernoj Hrvatskoj

Knjiga Povratak u prošlost. Bakreno doba u sjevernoj Hrvatskoj nastala je u sklopu istoimene izložbe postavljene u Arheološkom muzeju u Zagrebu u suradnji s Odsjekom za arheologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu i Arheološkim muzejom u Osijeku. Publikacija sadrži 16 tekstova koje pokrivaju različite bakrenodobne teme kroz razdoblje od približno 2000 godina – od načina života i organizacije naselja, izrade i upotrebe predmeta od različitih materijala, iskorištavanja različitih sirovina do zagrobnog života. Osim područja sjeverne Hrvatske u tekstovima je naglašena i međuovisnsot i komunikacija s ostalim dijelovima europskog kontinenta.Knjiga Povratak u prošlost. Bakreno doba u sjevernoj Hrvatskoj nastala je u sklopu istoimene izložbe postavljene u Arheološkom muzeju u Zagrebu u suradnji s Odsjekom za arheologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu i Arheološkim muzejom u Osijeku. Publikacija sadrži 16 tekstova koje pokrivaju različite bakrenodobne teme kroz razdoblje od približno 2000 godina – od načina života i organizacije naselja, izrade i upotrebe predmeta od različitih materijala, iskorištavanja različitih sirovina do zagrobnog života. Osim područja sjeverne Hrvatske u tekstovima je naglašena i međuovisnsot i komunikacija s ostalim dijelovima europskog kontinenta

The interaction of distant technologies: bridging Central Europe using a techno-typological comparison of spindle whorls

The study of prehistoric textile production requires the excavation of sites with exceptional organic preservation. Here, the authors focus on thread production using evidence from two fourth-millennium BC pre-Alpine wetland sites: Arbon-Bleiche 3 in Switzerland and Bad Buchau-Torwiesen II in southern Germany. A comparison of the spindle whorls from these two settlements with a contemporaneous East-central European dataset suggests that multiple culture-historical groups with distinct technological signatures inhabited Neolithic Central Europe. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of conical spindle whorls within the pre-Alpine settlements suggests the immigration of both people and technology from the east, thereby illuminating the wider themes of mobility and innovation in prehistoric Europe