Table of Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
Abbreviations xiii
1 Framing the Discussion 1
Methodology 5
Spinning and Weaving 7
Plant Fibers 7
Spinning Wool 10
Weaving 11
Minoan Crete 13
Mycenaean Greece 14
Iron Age Gordion 15
Summary 16
2 Prehistoric Textile Production on Crete 17
Cloth and Cultural Complexity 18
Neolithic Knossos 20
Early Minoan Crete and the Emergence of the Palatial System 24
Knossos 25
Myrtos Fournou Korifi and Vasiliki 26
The First Palaces on Crete 32
Inventing Purple 34
Minoan Purple in the Levant and Egypt 39
Administration of Cloth Production 43
Minoan Seal Stones 43
Linear A and Minoan Cloth Production 48
Minoan Textile Tools 49
Spindle Whorls 50
Minoan Loom Weights 50
Spherical Loom Weights 51
Discoid Weights 56
Cuboid Weights 58
Case Studies 60
Praisos 60
Petras 60
Palaikastro 61
Kommos 61
Summary 62
3 Cloth Production in the Mycenaean World 64
Textiles in the Mycenaean Economy 66
Pylos and Knossos 69
Sheep 70
The WOOL Unit 71
The Tarasija System and the Organization of Labor 72
Collectors and Non-Collectors 72
Mycenaean References to Cloth 74
Ligatures 74
Non-Ligatured Ideograms 77
Specific Textile Terms 78
Various Phases of Cloth Production in the Tablets from Knossos 81
Da-Dg Series: Tribute or Census? 81
Dk-Dl Series: Targets and Yields 83
L-Series Tablets 84
Ak and Ap Series 93
Pp Tablets 94
Linen at Knossos 95
Mycenaean Textile Production at Pylos 97
Pylian Wool 98
Pylian Linen 98
Thebes and Mycenae 100
Thebes 101
Mycenae 101
Late Bronze Age Art 103
Summary 104
4 Gordion and Phrygian Cloth Production 108
Phrygians of Gordion 112
Craft Residues 112
Spindle Whorls 114
Loom Weights 116
Ivory and Bone Implements 118
Iron and Bronze Tools 118
Contexts of Production 121
The Elite Quarter 121
The Industrial Quarter 124
Summary 150
Appendix 4.1 Textile Fragments 153
Appendix 4.2 Phrygian Fibulae and Textiles 158
5 Comparative Textile Production and Conclusions 161
Egypt 161
Near East 164
Tell es-Sa'idiyeh 166
New World Evidence 168
Aztec 168
Inca 170
Conclusions: Tying it all Together 172
Bibliography 175
Index 197
