Figure 1.--his is a bronze Roman statue of an aristocratic boy from the Augustan period (27 BC - 14 AD), now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The depiction is idealized. At that time, no aristocrat would have worn the toga as his only garment. This was, however, the origin of the toga in the Arcaic period: a large woollen cloth wrapped around the uclothed body. Notuce the hand gesture. An Italian reader tells us that it is probably an apotropaic sign, which makes sence because of the high rate of child mortality.

There is a major chronological divide between ancient ans modern garments. Ancient people tended to wear wrap garments while modern people tend to wear more practical fitted garments. This was because it was much less complicated to weave a single piece of clothing that the wearer wrapped around g=his or her body. Fitted garment required weeing different pieces that were then stitched together. This was much more expensive to produce. And in ancient times when most of the population was poor, cost was a huge issue. Clothing was much more expensive in real terms than is the case today. The best known wrap garment was the Roman toga which came to have huge status implication, but many Romans wore togas, although not the long ones done in fine material like the elite wore. Wrap garments are still worn today and some have national significance such as the kimono and sari. They are usually worn by women. There are, however, wrap garments still worn by poor people such as the lungi in Bangladesh and India--in this case worn by men. It is interesting to look at some of the earliest appearances of modern garment types. While we see very early version of garments, but that does not mean that they were very common. Pants and trousers, for example, did not become common beyond the vast Eurasian Steppe until the 17th century and only in Europe/Western World until the 20th century. A factor here is that until the American Revolution (1776-83), the great bulk of the world population even in Europe was a landless peasantry with very few rights and only limited earnings. Owning land was vital in a world economy dominated ny agriculture. Fashion was the prerogative of a narrow strata of the population. The fledgling United States was the first country in history in which the average Joe could own the land he farmed as well as chose the people who governed him.

Wrap Garments

Ancient people tended to war reap garments while modern people tend to wear more practical fitted garments. Ancient people commonly wore wrap rather than fitted garments. This was because it was much less complicated to weave a single piece of clothing that the wearer coup wrap around g=his or her body. Fitted garment required weaving different pieces that were then stitched together. This was much more expensive to produce. And in ancient times when most of the population was poor, cost was a huge issue. Clothing was much more expensive in real terms than is the case today. The best known wrap garment was the Roman toga which came to have huge status implication, but many Romans wore togas, although not the long ones done in fine material like the elite. Wrap garments are still worn today and some have national significance such as the kimono and sari. They are usually worn by women. There are, however, wrap garments still worn by poor people such as the lungi in Bangladesh and India--in this case worn by men.

Fitted Garments

It is interesting to look at some of the earliest appearances of modern mostly fitted garment types. While we see very early version of garments, but that does not mean that they were very common. Pants and trousers, for example, did not become common beyond the vast Eurasian Steepe until the 17th century and only in Europe/Western World until the 20th century. A factor here is that until the American Revolution (1776-83), the great bulk of the world population even in Europe was a landless peasantry with very few rights and only limited earnings. Owning land was vital in a world economy dominated ny agriculture. Fashion was the prerogative of a narrow strata of the population. The fledgling United States was the first country in history in which the average Joe could own the land he farmed as well as chose the people who governed him.

Skirted Garment

Skirted garments are some of the earliest textile garments because the basic skirted garment was simple and easy to weave. Dresses can be made very fancy, but the basic design of a dress and skirt are very simple. Dresses are more complicated than skirts because they include a bodice, but still the basic design is relatively simple. The Tarkhan dress seems to be be the earliest textile garment ever found. Some describe it as a tunic. And we do not known if it was designed for a man or woman. The Tarkhan dress was found in the ancient Tarkhan Cemetery in the desert about 30 miles outside of Cairo. Many early garments that have been found are Egyptian, this may be partially because of the arid environment and the Egyptian burial practices, helping to preserve fragile textiles. The dress dates to the First Dynasty of the old Kingdom and may date to 3000 BC. It represents an early advance in textile technology -- it is the earliest woven garment ever found. It was a linen garment. There are tightly pleated sleeves and a yoke sewn onto a skirt. Researchers studying the dress point out creasing at the elbows and armpits, indicating that the garment was worn during the owner's lifetime. The dress was discovered inside out. Some researchers believe that it was intentionally placed like this in the tomb, ready for the deceased to put it on in the after life--a symbolic funerary practice. While discovered in 1913, but it wasn’t until conservators at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London began working on t 60 years later that its significance was understood.

Coats

Shirts and Blouses

Sweaters

The oldest sweater was discovered in Norway on a glacier. Norway of course and especially on a glazier seems like a perfect spot for such a find. Interestingly sweaters do not seem to have been a popular garment until the 20th century. But this was a garment that was functionally a sweater. We do not know what it was called at the time it was worn. It was woven from lamb and sheep wool and woven into a diamond twill fabric. It is a greenish-brown color and a boatneck style. It would have been worn by a man about 5-foot-9 in tall. the rarity of early sweaters leave us guessing about styling. It dates to about 300 AD. The styling is similar to a similar item found in a bog probably dating to the medieval era. The sweater seems to have been well cared for, it seems to have been patched twice. Garments at the time were much more valuable than modern garments. m It may also be an example of upcycling. It may originally have been a sleeveless tunic. the sleeves were probably added at the time of the second repair.

Pants

The earliest trousers/pants have been discovered in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in Northwest China, on the fringe of the great grasslands of the vast Eur-Asian Steppe. Here a fascinating archeological site has been found--The Yanghai Tombs. They span nearly 1,500 years and many to the delight of archeologists are impressively well preserved. The most modern of these tombs date to the Han Dynasty (roughly the 2nd century). Tombs are important because in part they provided a look at what was important to these ancient people. And we see that these people had domesticated and were riding horses. It is the steppe people that domesticated horses with huge socioeconomic impacts. It is the reason that Indio-European people and their languages spread out and are so important. We note their trousers (the most sensible garment for riding) and red-leather boots. Pants are believed to be the invention of steppe tribes (around 2,000 BC). Also found at Yanghai are brightly e colored sheepskin boots, fancy feather hats, decorative fringed skirt, a tiny loincloth, and leather balls. . But it is the pants pants that are of special interest. Pants were a very utilitarian development, a garment that offered protection and comfort when riding horses. The Yanghai trousers are believed to have been woven (about 1,000 BC). This was not when trousers first appeared. At this time pants had been worn by steppe people fr some 1,000 years, but the earliest actual example found to date. They were custom-made by weaving three separate pieces of cloth, two for the legs and one for the crotch area. They were then sewn together with matching thread. The fabric of these pants is decorated with intricate geometric designs as part of the weave. According to one source, "creating a visually appealing and comfortable pair of pants". The reason that the Yanghai trousers survived is the arid desert conditions where the tombs have preserved delicate textiles and fabrics. While pants appeared about 2,000 BC, they were not widely adoptee away from the steppe where most of the population did not ride horses. This is because they were a complicated garment to weave and this were expensive. his did not change until the beginning of the development of modern weaving technologies in Europe (17th century).

Hosiery

Hosiery is a relatively modern garment. The oldest socks found to date come from the Roman Empire, They date to about 250-420 AD. They were found in what had been Potolemic Egypt which was part of the Roman Empire. We don't think that Egypt had a climate where socks were needed. But the northern stretches of the Roman Empire included temperate areas with winters, although not real severe winters. They have been described as 'alien socks' or 'lobster toes' They were knitted wool socks which for some reason were dyed bright red. There were a split toe design. This is presumably so that they could be worn with sandals, the most common type of footwear at the time. They are an example of a knitting method of 'Nålbindning' or single-needle knitting. It has been described as a slow technique more akin to sewing than modern knitting. The knitting would have begun at the toe and slowly reached up to the ankle.

Footwear

Several examples of early foot wear were discovered in Oregon’s Fort Rock Basin in 1938. They are are examples of major garment types being found in the Americas. Archaeologists have uncovered the world’s oldest known pair of shoes, beautifully preserved and still together. They are known as the Fort Rock Sandals and were produced by twined sagebrush bark, constructed with a flat sole and a toe wrap. Other somewhat different styles have been discovered in the region. The production method is somewhat like basket weaning. Multiple pairs have been discovered. They were found beneath a layer of volcanic ash, coming from the eruption of Mount Mazama approximately 5,600 BC. Only after the development of Carbon 14 dating have examples been more accurately dated to 8-7,000 BC. Researchers speculate that the sandals were worn by sequring the thongs around the ankle and tying them on the opposite side.

Sources

Bar-Yosef, Ofer. Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Created: 4:07 PM 4/29/2024
Last edited: 6:10 PM 4/30/2024