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ARACHNE'S WEB: WOMEN, WEAVING AND NETWORKS OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE BRONZE AGE SOUTHERN AEGEAN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 September 2019

†Joanne Cutler
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Abstract

The appearance of loom weights at a number of southern Aegean sites in the Middle and early Late Bronze Age is indicative of the adoption of a new weaving technology: the use of the warp-weighted loom. The specific type of loom weight (discoid) recovered is a Cretan form, and this evidence of Cretan influence is also seen in a wider range of material culture features at these settlements during this period. Weaving is a complex skill and learning requires contact between novice and expert practitioner over an extended period of time; the introduction of a new weaving technology therefore raises the question of how the necessary technical knowledge and know-how was transferred from one individual or community to another. The archaeological indicators of this new technological practice, the loom weights themselves, are objects that very rarely travel, except with their owners; the presence of loom weights manufactured from non-local ceramic fabrics at some of the southern Aegean sites can therefore provide a window into the patterns of mobility through which the new technology is likely to have spread. Both in the Bronze Age and subsequent Archaic and Classical periods, weaving was closely associated with women. Loom weights thus constitute archaeological markers for the craftswomen who used them. This paper explores the insight they can offer into female networks of teaching, learning and craft practice in the second millennium bc.

Ο ιστός της αράχνης: οι γυναίκες, η υφαντική και τα γνωστικά δίκτυα την εποχή του Χαλκού στο Νότιο Αιγαίο

Η εμφάνιση των υφαντικών βαρών σε αρκετά μέρη στο νότιο Αιγαίο την περίοδο της Μέσης και αρχές της Ύστερης εποχής του Χαλκού είναι ενδεικτικό της υιοθέτησης μίας νέας υφαντικής τεχνολογίας: δηλαδή, της χρήσης του όρθιου αργαλειού. Ο συγκεκριμένος τύπος υφαντικού βάρους (δισκοειδής) που ανακαλύφθηκε, είναι Κρητικού τύπου και η ανακάλυψη της Κρητικής επιρροής είναι επίσης εμφανής σε ένα ευρύ φάσμα χαρακτηριστικών των υλικών καταλοίπων στους οικισμούς κατά τη διάρκεια αυτής της περιόδου. Η υφαντική αποτελεί μία πολύπλοκη δεξιοτεχνία και η εκμάθηση της απαιτεί την στενή συνεργασία μεταξύ των αρχάριων και των επαγγελματιών για μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα. Έτσι, η εισαγωγή μίας νέας υφαντικής τεχνολογίας θέτει το ερώτημα πώς η απαραίτητη τεχνική γνώση και η τεχνογνωσία μεταφερόταν από το ένα άτομο στο άλλο ή από την μία κοινότητα στην άλλη. Οι αρχαιολογικές ενδείξεις αυτής της νέας τεχνολογικής πρακτικής, τα ίδια δηλαδή υφαντικά βάρη, είναι αντικείμενα που σπάνια ταξιδεύουν, εκτός αν τα μεταφέρουν οι ιδιοκτήτες τους. Η ύπαρξη αγνύθων που παράγονται από μη τοπικά κεραμικά υλικά σε ορισμένες από τις περιοχές του νότιου Αιγαίου μπορεί ως εκ τούτου να αποτελούν ένα «παράθυρο» στα πρότυπα της κινητικότητας μέσω της οποίας η νέα τεχνολογία είναι πιθανό να έχει εξαπλωθεί. Τόσο στην Εποχή του Χαλκού όσο και στις επόμενες Αρχαϊκές και Κλασικές περιόδους, η ύφανση συνδέεται στενά με τις γυναίκες. Επομένως, τα υφαντικά βάρη αποτελούν αρχαιολογικά στοιχεία για τις τεχνίτριες που τα χρησιμοποίησαν. Αυτό το άρθρο διερευνά τις γνώσεις που μπορούν να προσφέρουν στα δίκτυα γυναικείας διδασκαλίας, εκμάθησης και χειροτεχνίας στη δεύτερη χιλιετία π.Χ.

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Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 114 , November 2019 , pp. 79 - 92
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Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 2019 

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