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Title: Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times by Elizabeth Wayland Barber ISBN: 0-393-31348-4 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: September, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.9 (10 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinating!
Comment: This is a scholarly yet easily read book about the history of textiles, from basic string to complex weaves, and also about the fascinating history of the social development of humanity, from hunter-gatherers on.
The author's research is thorough and includes archeological evidence, analysis and identification of artifacts, maps and descriptions of trade routes, consideration of stories and myths, photographs, letters, and even human physiology. Her theories, including why women are absent from most historical records and what the Venus de Milo was doing with her now-missing arms, are eye-opening and firmly grounded in her extensive research.
Further, this book covers a lot of ground as well as time. Geographically, areas from the Eastern reaches to Europe and down into Egypt are presented, and comparisons between ancient and modern costumes and traditions are made.
During the course of the book the author makes the cogent point that archeologists and historians m! ight do well to attempt recreation of artifacts found (using time-appropriate methods); her own experiences in making such a recreation is telling and amusing. Likewise, her observations on customs and costumes (those which have survived, those which have not, and possible reasons why) suggest that sociology has much to add to our understanding of history, of the hows and whys humans have lived and developed.
I found this book to be suprising, thought-provoking, entertaining, and a good reference source. I have presented copies to two of my friends (they kept borrowing my copy!), and will it serve as a gift to three more (who keep trying to borrow mine, but I've learned my lesson).
Rating: 5
Summary: Who knew string could be so interesting?
Comment: I had the privelege of attending a lecture by the author recently, and ran out immediately after to get the book. It is clearly written and obviously well researched, and Barber has a refreshing, unique perspective in archaeology: she views her subject from more than one angle. Looking at "women's work" as an archaeologist, linguist and weaver, Barber is able to see the bigger picture, and points out gaping holes in most prehistoric civilization studies: little, if any, mention of textile production, and its sweeping impact on early society. Barber has reproduced many of these textiles herself, and in my mind, this practical experience makes her more than just another academician spouting theory. The book is a good read, and thankfully the author does not use this material to plug any revisioinist-history agenda. I look forward to her next book, possibly a study connecting language, archaeology, etc., with regard to textiles found in N.W. South America that have a stiking similarity to some Asian textiles. This was brought up as a final point in the lecture: we all await the next chapter!
Rating: 5
Summary: Incredible history of women and fiber art
Comment: As a fiber artist, I am very interested in the history of fiber. Elizabeth Barber's "Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years" is fantastic, both as a history of the use of fibers and as a history of working women. I learned a great deal about women's role in society from her research, and it makes me proud to be a modern woman working with fiber, just as my ancestors did. Highly recommended!
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Title: The Mummies of Urumchi by Elizabeth Wayland Barber, E. J. W. Barber ISBN: 0393320197 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Prehistoric Textiles by E. J.W. Barber ISBN: 069100224X Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr Pub. Date: 14 December, 1992 List Price(USD): $55.00 |
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Title: Cloth and Human Experience (Smithsonian Series in Ethnographic Inquiry) by Annette B. Weiner, Jane Schneider ISBN: 0874749956 Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Press Pub. Date: April, 1991 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: The Book of Looms: A History of the Handloom from Ancient Times to the Present by Eric Broudy ISBN: 0874516498 Publisher: Brown Univ Pr Pub. Date: 15 October, 1993 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: Working Women in America: Split Dreams by Sharlene Janice Hesse-Biber, Gregg Lee Carter ISBN: 0195110250 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $28.95 |
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