Special note on silkTextual evidence for silk in ancient Mesopotamia is tantalizing. There is reference to
what has been translated as silk (Heb. meeshe) in writings that date to the beginning
of the first millennium BC(“She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing
silk and purple” Proverbs 31 : 22 KJV) as noted by Oppenheim in his paper on
overland trade ( 1969 ). Oppenheim also notes a special kind of imported thread (Middle
Babylonian GADA tumanu andtibu GADA), in which the determinative “GADA”
might be interpreted as possibly meaning silk. Indeed, archaeological evidence is
emerging for both wild silks and the use of “sea silk” (byssus) in the Mediterranean
in the early first millennium BCand even earlier (see Good 1995 for overview).
EquipmentSpinning was done by use of a spindle, often with the aid of a whorl for added torsion.
We have evidence for both middle- and low-weight spindles for the Babylonians.
Interestingly, there is increasing evidence through the study of burials for the craft
of spinning as associated with women of status. This becomes the norm in later Iron
Age Elam, Europe and Anatolia, though not as much attention has been paid to the
evidence for this type of hierarchical display in female graves in Mesopotamia.
Spinning flax requires a slightly different technology from that of wool; as flax
fibers are smooth, and do not tend to naturally adhere to each other as does sheep’s
wool. Flax, therefore, needs to be wet when spun, allowing the natural mucilage gum
to adhere to adjacent fibers. On the other hand, the staples (length of individual fibers)
is generally longer and flax does not need to be twisted as much as does wool in order
to stay coherent in a thread; therefore, the “draw,” or amount of pull while twisting,
is not as great as for wool. This makes it technically easier to spin very fine thread.
At Abu Salabikh, to the northeast of Nippur, we have what may be the first concrete
evidence for the distaff (Barber 1991 : 57 ; Postgate and Moon 1982 ), dating to ED
III: a copper rod with a flattened nail-like head, associated with a copper spindle.
Another similar item was found in ED III levels at Choga Mish. Interestingly, the
distaff, while attesting to the use of flax for spinning, also suggests that it was not
part of a heavy “production” line, but rather individual or domosstyle level of production.
While the distaff saves time and makes holding onto scutched and hackled flax easier
to access quickly while spinning; the lack thereof might actually imply the “assembly-
line” approach, with several people nearby handing out small-sized portions of flax
ready to spin as needed (see Barber 1991 : ch. 2 ).
LoomThe Babylonians used the horizontal ground loom. The types of weave were evidently
not too variable, though the types of cloth were, indeed, quite variable. This variation
had less to do with weave structure and more to do with decorative techniques. The
horizontal ground loom is a simple instrument, yet it has the capacity to produce a
wide variety of types of cloth. Pile, supplemental warp and complementary warp are
each possible through this type of loom, which consists of four anchoring stakes, hold-
ing two beams, fore and aft, in tension, for the warp (the vertical threads of cloth).
— Irene Good —