Banck-Burgess J., Wolf C. (eds.), The Significance of Archaeological Textiles from the prehistoric period. Textile craftsmanship from the neolithic wetland settlements in South-West Germany. THEFBO Volume I. Forschungen und Berichte zur Archäologie in Baden-Württemberg 27.

• Applicant: Dr. Johanna Banck-Burgess
• Subject Area: Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 555344756

Based on a unique inventory of wetland textile finds from archaeological sites of pile dwellings in south-west Germany, the joint project THEFBO explored the significance of such textiles in the everyday life of these settlement communities (Böhm et al. 2023). In the course of this work, some 2200 individual finds from 22 find sites (predominantly from the 4th and 3rd millennia BC) were recorded in a data bank. This compilation can be accessed through a QR code which will be included in the final publication. The main focus of our evaluation process was placed on the selection, preparation, and processing of the employed raw materials, and the functionality of the resulting textiles. Questions regarding the relevance of textile objects in the transition of Central European populations to a sedentary lifestyle were likewise examined, augmented by complementary published material from Mesolithic find sites. In the manuscript before you, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the scientific fields of dendrology, paleo-botany, forest sciences, conservation science, textile archaeology and experimental archaeology presents fundamental research and groundbreaking results of major relevance to the above subjects. Based on the publications by Körber-Grohne (1977; 1998) and Schweinsgruber (1990; et al. 2019), which had explored the identification and properties of wood basts, this team was able to determine the specific characteristics for the bark of eight different indigenous tree species. The lime tree was the primary focus of this work, as it formed the main source of raw materials for both sewn bark vessels and textile objects. The possibilities inherent in the analysis and evaluation of structural changes caused by intentional retting processes, decay after deposition in the ground, and conservation measures, were demonstrated in an exemplary manner in a process of close interdisciplinary cooperation. A concentration on specific types of textile products has enabled us to substantiate, for the first time, the great relevance of textiles in the context of prehistoric subsistence economy. A compilation of Mesolithic and Neolithic fishing implements allowed the team to demonstrate the relevance of prehistoric textiles in an exemplary manner. With the exception of spears, these implements were either made entirely of textiles or incorporated such materials as essential components. It appears that fishing on a relevant scale would not have been possible without the use of textiles. A similar significance can be observed in a range of composite tools which could not have functioned without textile bindings. The context of the THEFBO project has enabled us to introduce the term 'technical textiles' into the field of prehistoric textile archaeology. Until recently, such textiles had not really been understood or recognized as an integral part of the process of cultural history.

• DFG Programme: Publication Grants