Maria Elena Bertoli - SGSAH Research

Project Title: The fibre revolution in Bronze Age northern Italy: investigating textile economies in transition from plant fibres to wool | AHRC DTP

Subject: Archaeology

Supervisors: Dr Susana Harris, School of Humanities, University of Glasgow; Dr Gareth Beale, School of Humanities, University of Glasgow; Prof Christina Young, School of Culture & Creative Arts, University of Glasgow

Keywords: Wool; Flax; Textiles; Bronze Age; Northern Italy; Economy

Discipline+Catalyst: Archaeology & Classics

Knowledge Exchange Hub: Heritage

About Maria’s Research:

Textiles are a major technology affecting many aspects of daily and economic life. The transition from plant fibre to sheep’s wool to make textiles occurred in the Bronze Age (c.2200-1200 BCE) and is one of the major innovations and economic junctures in textile history. Yet this horizon of change and societal impact is poorly understood.

This research will investigate the transition from plant fibres to wool textile in the main Bronze Age pile dwellings sites and Terramare in northern Italy. Using a suite of innovative methods, this research will focus on the textile tools discovered in the pile dwellings and Terramare sites in northern Italy. The results will investigate how the adoption of wool affected the social organization of textile production within these settlements.