Wool Economy in the Ancient Near East and the Aegean: from the Beginnings of Sheep Husbandry to Institutional Textile Industry

International audienceThe history of the Ancient Near East covers a huge chronological frame, from the first pictographic texts of the late 4th millennium to the conquest of Alexander the Great in 333 BC. During these millennia, different societies developed in a changing landscape where sheep (and their wool) always played an important economic role. The 22 papers presented here explore the place of wool in the ancient economy of the region, where large-scale textile production began during the second half of the 3rd millennium. By placing emphasis on the development of multi-disciplinary methodologies, experimentation and use of archaeological evidence combined with ancient textual sources, the wide-ranging contributions explore a number of key themes. These include: the first uses of wool in textile manufacture and organization of weaving; trade and exchange; the role of wool in institutionalized economies; and the reconstruction of the processes that led to this first form of industry in Antiquity. The numerous archaeological and written sources provide an enormous amount of data on wool, textile crafts, and clothing and these inter-disciplinary studies are beginning to present a comprehensive picture of the economic and cultural impact of woollen textiles and textile manufacturing on formative ancient societies. Table of ContentsForeword and AcknowledgementsWool Economy in the Ancient Near East and the Aegean by Catherine Breniquet and Cécile Michel1Bronze and Iron Age Wools from Europe by Antoinette Rast-Eicher 2The Expansion of Sheep Herding and the Development of Wool Production in the Ancient Near East: An Archaeozoological and Iconographical Approach by Emmanuelle Vila and Daniel Helmer3Sheep, Wool and Textile Production, an Interdisciplinary Approach on the Complexity of Wool Working by Eva Andersson Strand 4The Archaeology of Wool in Early Mesopotamia: Sources, Methods, Perspectives by Catherine Breniquet5Lambs of the Gods. The Beginnings of the Wool Economy in Proto-Cuneiform Texts by Petr Charvat6The value of Wool in Early Bronze Age Mesopotamia. On the Control of Sheep and the Handling of Wool in the Presargonic to the Ur III Periods (c. 2400 to 2000 BC) by Walther Sallaberger 7Wool in the Economy of Sargonic Mesopotamia by Benjamin Foster8From Weighing Wool to Weaving Tools. Textile Manufacture at Ebla during the Early Syrian Period in the Light of Archeaological Evidence by Luca Peyronel9Rations of Wool at Ebla (Syria, XXIVth cent. BCE) by Maria Giovanna Biga 10Making Textiles at Arslantepe, Turkey, in the 4th and 3rd Millennia BC. Archaeological Data and Experimental Archaeology by Romina Laurito, Cristina Lemorini and Assunta Perilli11Wool Economy in the Royal Archive of Mari during the Šakkanakku Period by Laurent Colonna d’Istria12All Wool and a Yard Wide. Wool Production and Trade in the Old Babylonian Sippar by Katrien de Graef13Wool Trade in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria According to Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian Texts by Cécile Michel 14Wool in Anatolia in the Old Assyrian Period by Agnete Wisti Lassen15Wool Economy in Minoan Crete before Linear B. A Minimalist Position by Pietro Militello16Wool in the Nuzi Texts by Philippe Abrahami 17Wool Production and Economy at Ugarit by Valérie Matoïan and Juan-Pablo Vita, with a contribution of E. Bordreuil18Sheep Rearing, Wool Production and Management in Mycenaean Written Documents by Françoise Rougemont 19Wool Economy in Greece, end of IInd millennium and Ist millennium BC by Marie-Louise Nosch 20Wool, Hair and Textiles in Assyria by Nicholas Postgate21“If you have a sheep, you have all you need”. Sheep Husbandry and Wool in the Economy of the Neo-Babylonian Ebabbar Temple at Sippar by Stefan Zawadzki 22Fabrics and Clothes from Mesopotamia during the Achaemenid and Seleucid Periods: the Textual References by Francis Joannè