Women's Work
The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times
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Women's Work
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Narrated by:
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Donna Postel
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Written by:
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Elizabeth Wayland Barber
About this listen
New discoveries about the textile arts reveal women's unexpectedly influential role in ancient societies.
Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing the first clothing created from spun fibers. In fact, right up to the Industrial Revolution the fiber arts were an enormous economic force, belonging primarily to women.
Despite the great toil required in making cloth and clothing, most books on ancient history and economics have no information on them. Much of this gap results from the extreme perishability of what women produced, but it seems clear that until now descriptions of prehistoric and early historic cultures have omitted virtually half the picture.
Elizabeth Wayland Barber has drawn from data gathered by the most sophisticated newer archaeological methods - methods she herself helped to fashion. In a "brilliantly original book" (Katha Pollitt, Washington Post Book World), she argues that women were a powerful economic force in the ancient world, with their own industry: fabric.
©1994 Elizabeth Wayland Barber (P)2019 TantorWhat listeners say about Women's Work
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robyn Norton
- 2024-03-05
Amazing history
I sat and listened to this while spinning and knitting and it made me feel connected to many women in history in a way I never thought of and how old of a craft this has been for women. Very thought provoking.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tataypoghi
- 2023-04-09
Amazing!
Really appreciated the blend of explanation of folklore and textile and labour work in this history book
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bard Groupie
- 2019-07-17
Oh the twisted thread of history...
As a fiber artist, I found this both inspirational and informative. I am amazed at the information gathered and how yet I am thankful for it. I have always been more interested in traditional fiber arts then more modern influences and often had a lot to ponder. Some of my questions have been answered only to be replaced by a mountain of new ones and I hope that this book inspires more scientific minds to search for more of the truth that has been discarded in the past. Oh to think of how much has been discarded just puts pangs in my heart, we will perhaps never know. I can't help but wonder if the treasures of 'Must Farm' archeology site are a lot of luck or there are still plenty to find if we would just open our eyes to it. Actually trying to recreate instead of just documenting sounds so important in researching these arts and I am thankful someone is taking the time to do so.
I read this quickly and will read it again. I suspect it is like one of those movies that you discover so much more the second time because there is just so much important information to take in in one sitting.
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2 people found this helpful