Preliminary communication

Bones for the Loom. Weaving Experiment with Astragali Weights

Ana Grabundžija orcid.org/0000-0003-4757-3319 ; Excellence Cluster TOPOI Doctoral Fellow, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Chiara Schoch ; Freie Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften, Institut für Vorderasiatische Archäologie, Berlin, Germany
Agata Ulanowska orcid.org/0000-0002-4946-2711 ; Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

Abstract

A short weaving experiment took place at the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb in order to test the functional nature of the published astragali from Gomolava site as well as to determine and discuss their potential for use as loom-weights. Authors managed to borrow a set of 15 astragali from the Institute for Quaternary Paleontology and Geology in Zagreb. They warped 14 of them on a vertical loom, built by the Centre for Experimental Archaeology – CEKSA, in order to demonstrate weaving techniques to the participants and visitors of the workshop. The main purpose of the experiment was to test their potential functionality, while recording the weaving experience, in order to raise some particular questions that should be addressed in the prospective research on the astragali bones. Being limited by time, during the experiment only a single piece of textile was woven. The fifteenth astragalus bone was used for a simple spooling experiment.

Keywords

Experiment; astragali; textile archaeology; the Vinča culture; Gomolava; loom-weights; worked bones; functionality; use; indirect evidence; textile tools; spools

Hrčak ID:

171070

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/171070

Publication date:

21.12.2016.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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