Sensible dress: the sight, sound, smell and touch of Late Ertebølle Mesolithic cloth types

Harris, S. (2014) Sensible dress: the sight, sound, smell and touch of Late Ertebølle Mesolithic cloth types. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 24(1), pp. 37-56. (doi: 10.1017/S0959774314000031)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the sight, sound, smell and touch of different cloth-types in the Late Ertebølle of southern Scandinavia and to argue that such an approach provides stimulating new insights into an area of material culture that has previously been studied by archaeologists in a highly empirical manner. The archaeological evidence drawn together in this paper points to this as a time when furs and skin products were of prime importance and plant fibres were the basis for knotted nets, looped cloth and basketry. In the archaeological literature these cloth-types are usually treated separately and described according to the species of raw materials, such as pine marten fur, or the technology of their production, such as couched button hole stitch. Using an experiment where participants are asked to handle modern cloth-types and answer structured questionnaires, it is possible to create a sensory description of these cloth-types. These descriptive results are then used to reconsider aspects of cloth and clothing in the Late Ertebølle of southern Scandinavia. By moving from the standard technological description to a sensory description, the Mesolithic cloth types investigated in this paper are placed within a sensory and phenomenological theoretical framework. The presentation of these results seeks to provide a new description of these materials and allow archaeologists to revaluate the culturally embedded nature of cloth and clothing at that time.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Archaeology, Prehistoric, Mesolithic, Sensory, Textiles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Harris, Dr Susanna
• Authors: Harris, S.
• Subjects: C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology; T Technology > TT Handicrafts Arts and crafts
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Archaeology
• Journal Name: Cambridge Archaeological Journal
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 0959-7743
• ISSN (Online): 1474-0540
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2014 The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
• First Published: First published in Cambridge Archaeological Journal 24(1):37-56
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
		Cloth Cultures of Prehistoric Europe	Susanna Harris	British Academy	UNSPECIFIED