Page 41 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

1818 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

spindle, although some twist long plant fibers into yarn by which does not dye easily, so Egyptians most often used
rolling them on their bare thighs as their ancestors did. undyed linens. They showed wealth and prestige by the
fineness of the yarns and the whiteness of the fabric.
Looms Early weavers north of the Mediterranean developed a
Early people found a number of ways to arrange the spun vertical loom by suspending the warp yarns from a hor-
yarns into fabric. The earliest extant examples, which izontal beam held by upright supports on either side.The
date from around 6000 BCE came from a cave in present- warp yarns hung down from the beam.To provide order
day Israel at Nahal Hemar and archaeological excavations and tension, the weavers tied the lower ends of the
in Turkey at Catal Huyuk.The fabrics from these and other warps to clay or stone weights. The weaver then inter-
early sites contain fibers, like flax, from plant stems. laced the weft yarns beginning at the top of this warp-
Mesopotamian weavers along the Tigris and Euphrates weighted loom.Archaeologists have found loom weights
Rivers wove flax fabrics on horizontal looms.Wall paint- dating as early as Neolithic times in Crete, Greece,
ings in tombs and three-dimensional funerary models also Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Yugo-
show Egyptians controlling stiff flax yarns on a horizon- slavia. Discovering a row of weights between two post-
tal ground loom. Basically this loom had two wooden holes provides clear evidence that people wove on
beams spaced apart with yarns wrapped back and forth vertical looms even when no yarn or fabric remains.
between the two beams, which were held in place by pegs Figurines, wall paintings, pendants, and extant textiles
beaten into the ground. This set of yarns is called the from Egypt to China show the development of other
warp. The Egyptians interlaced another yarn over and types of looms. Most often the spinners and weavers
under the tightly stretched warp yarns to produce a woven depicted are women, who could combine these tasks with
fabric.This intersecting set of crosswise yarns is called the childcare. Over time in many locations, women pro-
weft. The width and length of the loom determined the duced textiles for domestic use; men became more
size of the fabric. Plant fibers contain mostly cellulose, involved when the cloth had potential for trade.Textiles
have been a major trade commodity since ancient times,
making a significant contribution to the economy of
many areas.

Yarns
As sheep became domesticated around 4000 BCE,
weavers produced fabrics containing wool yarns. Sumer-
ian cuneiform tablets recorded information about sheep
breeds. Wool is a protein fiber and is easily dyed, and
Mesopotamian figures and wall paintings show colorful
fabric patterns.Wool had limited use by pharonic Egyp-
tians, but in the New Kingdom, they wove hieroglyphic
designs in linen fabrics. The tomb of Thutmose IV con-
tained examples of this tapestry weaving with weft yarns
woven in only where their color is needed. They are
A traditional loom from India. Although tightly packed, obscuring the warp yarns. Later Egyptian
different in appearance, it works on the Christian Coptic weavers expertly used this discontinu-
same principles as the loom from ous weft-faced tapestry weave to create pictorial textiles.
Medieval Europe. The Coptic influence is particularly obvious in surviving