First Textiles

Seminar with Professor emerita Lise Bender Jørgensen from Norwegian University of Science and Technology. 

Recent excavations at Çatalhöyük in Turkey have recovered remains of textiles, cordage and basketry. They date to the 7th Millennium cal BC and fit in a long development in the Paleolithic, Epipaleolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic periods, during which strings and basketry techniques were used to produce a variety of objects such as matting, rigid containers and flexible fabrics that may be termed textiles. The paper presents the main findings of the Çatalhöyük textiles and basketry team.

Çatalhöyük is currently the earliest site where preserved woven textiles have been found, dated between 6700 and 6500 cal BC. They form the starting point for a discussion of the emergence of textile technologies based on finds dated between 21000 and 5000 cal BC, mostly from the Near East and around the Mediterranean but also Northern Europe.

Part of the Archaeology Research Seminar Series - Spring 2024