Weaving society in Late Chalcolithic Anatolia: Textile production and social strategies in the 4th millennium BC

The nature and development of textile production in prehistoric Anatolia has received very little systematic attention so far. This paper attempts to show that it is at the end of the 5th millennium BC when we first see a great increase of effort being invested into this field, a development which may be linked to the introduction of wool-producing caprids into the region. The social and economic implications of this development are investigated through a review of the evidence for flax-cultivation, pastoral strategies and the distribution of tools used in textile manufacture. The paper questions views that woven textiles were produced for their use-value and that they served the generation of cumulative wealth in this initial configuration. Alternative explanations are sought to understand better why the production and consumption of textiles suddenly became of central interest to Anatolian societies during the Late Chalcolithic and following times.