Textile Activity and Cultural Identity in Sicily Between the Final Bronze Age and Archaic Period

Clothing was an essential part of material culture in ancient societies both as a form of body protection and as house equipment. Besides a practical function, textiles played a crucial role in communicating various aspects of social and personal identity.

Based largely on the analysis of textile tools, this book is intended to be the first systematic attempt at reconstructing textile culture in ancient Sicily. Textile implements represent the most abundant category of evidence for textile activity in Sicily and in this book they are used as a means to explore the social dynamics within cultural interactions in the final Bronze–Iron Age and Archaic Sicily.

The book begins with an overview of the cultural complexity of communities in Sicily and the Aeolian islands, focusing on two crucial periods of Sicilian history, which are characterised by intense movements of peoples from the Italian peninsula and the establishment of Greek and Phoenician settlements. Through the investigation of textile tools, the book discusses several key aspects, including technological features of textile technology and production, knowledge transfer, networks of weavers, as well as the social significance of textile activity.

By employing an interdisciplinary perspective, this book is important not only for textile specialists but also for scholars and students dealing with culturally hybrid frameworks of ancient Sicily and provides a springboard for future studies on textile culture and cultural interactions in the ancient world.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
List of Maps
List of Tables
Abbreviations

Introductory Framework
1. Geographical, Chronological and Cultural framework
2. Textile activity in Sicily: Sources and Evidence
3. Textile tools in domestic and workshop contexts
4. Textile tools in votive and sacred contexts
5. Technology and production
6. Tracing textile culture of Sicily

Annex A: Analysis of textile tools in Sicily: the case studies
Annex B: Analysis of textile tools from the Late-Final Bronze Age settlements at Lipari
Annex C: Analysis of loom weights from the so-called Bothros of Aeolus- Lipari
Annex D: Analysis of textile tools from Metapiccola (Lentini)
Annex E: Analysis of textile tools from the FB-IA Cittadella hill (Morgantina)
Annex F: Analysis of textile tools from the Archaic Cittadella hill (Morgantina)
Annex G: Analysis of textile tools from the FB-IA settlement of Sabucina
Annex H: Analysis of textile tools from the Archaic settlement of Sabucina
Annex I: Analysis of textile tools from Himera
Annex J: Analysis of textile tools from Monte Maranfusa
Annex K: Analysis of textile tools from Monte Polizo

Afterword
Bibliography

Gabriella Longhitano is an archaeologist working in Italy and Crete. She specialises in ancient textile production and related social practices. She holds a PhD in Archaeology (2019) from the University of Liverpool (UK). She is currently undertaking a PhD in Cultural Heritage at the University of Catania (Italy).