Women's Work cover art

Women's Work

The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times

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Women's Work

By: Elizabeth Wayland Barber
Narrated by: Donna Postel
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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 Tantor Archaeology Gender Studies World Ancient History Textile Art

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Would still recommend

A classic dress history text, and good introduction to ancient textiles. A little outdated in areas now, due to much archaeological research having been done since it was published. Some longer words were not clear due to the reader’s pronunciation. Would still recommend.

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Well researched but very white and christian

Don't read this one if you're not white, it is filled with many acts of racist violence. Research a lot better than some, but it's 'karen' feminism, so don't expect anything better than that from this.

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