communication in material culture. Observing these processes archaeologically offers
us important understanding of ancient society which might otherwise be obscured.
Cloth, clothing and modes of textile production, even particular types of fiber,
are regionally distinct elements of material culture. The role of textile production
in ancient society can be observed through the transformation in organization of
production from domos to specialized craft. Cultural interactions through the ex-
change of goods, including textiles, brought about technical innovation and social
change.
STORIED HISTORYThe study of mythology can inform much about cloth and its significance within the
social sphere. Stories offer a unique perspective, revealing traditional and indigenous
perceptions concerning cloth, even fiber. In the tale of Gilgamesh, Enkidu was a
primitive, uncivilized man who was tamed by a woman. His entry and acceptance
into Uruk and civil life was symbolically initiated by washing his filthy hairy body
then clothing himself in a robe and donning a sash (Gray 1982 : 9 – 10 ). Here in this
story we see how the body clothed takes on a new identity: transformed from the
natural world to the civilized world.
Evidence for the renown of textile manufacturers, particularly the differences in
textile production between pastoral and agricultural economies, can also be found in
literary texts from Sumer. In the Sumerian tale of Dumuzi and Enkimdu (Wolkstein
and Kramer 1983 : 30 – 31 ), a few basic and important differences in textile production
are explicitly stated within a literary form, showing us how aware ancient Mesopo-
tamians were about the stark difference in different types of cloth, as representative
Figure 9. 1 Seal of a presentation scene of a figure being led by a goddess to a seated male deity.
The goddess wears a spiral-wrapped panel dress of tiered fringe (courtesy of the Trustees of the
British Museum).
— Irene Good —