How Fabric Changed History
Egypt is famous for its arid climate, which tends to preserve historical evidence extraordinarily well. Take fabric, for instance. In most places, it lasts a few hundred years at best, but in Egypt, textiles have been found that date back seven thousand years.
By far the most common type of textile found by historians in Egypt is linen. This material held a special position in Egyptian culture. In fact, at an archeological site at Amarna, 85 percent of the thousands of fabric remnants discovered were made of linen.
Linen was important in many ways. For one, as a valuable, tradeable asset, it was used like money to obtain goods or services and collected over time as a way of storing wealth. Linen underpinned the Egyptian economy.
And in manufacturing, it was commonly used to make bandages, wrappings and clothing. Linen is a very good conductor of heat, which makes it feel cool against the skin – a practical attribute in Egypt’s climate.
But beyond its practical value, linen also played a key part in Egyptian religious practices, where secrecy and concealment were often important. For example, deep within temple shrines, cult statues were wrapped in linen daily by priests as part of their worship.
A common misconception today is that Egyptian death rite of mummification was merely a method of preserving bodies for the afterlife. This would mean that the linen wrappings were a mere covering for the artifacts of real importance.
But in fact, it was the linen wrapping that gave mummies their meaning and significance, making them sacred.
The intricate wrapping of mummies was highly ritualized and secretive. Priests who did the work were even respectfully called “masters of secrets.” The wrapping took place in a special room, and the priests would purify themselves beforehand by shaving, washing and donning fresh linen.
The ritual of wrapping added meaning to the mummification process in many ways.
For one, priests usually tried to layer fabrics in multiples of the numbers three and four, which had a special status in Egyptian culture. Objects of significance like amulets were also layered in with the fabric.
What’s more, people seem to have collected the linen used for their own burial during their lives, preferring textiles that held some significance due to their past. For instance, text on one of the linens wrapping the body of Ramses III identified its weaver as the daughter of a high priest, which is probably why it was considered worthy for this function.
The process of embalming and wrapping transformed a dead human body into something imbued with spiritual significance. The cultural significance of fabric can go far beyond the spiritual, however. It can also be integral in diplomacy and art, as we’ll see in the next blink.
Textiles are woven into every part of human history. Our continual reinvention of cloth is a testament to the irrepressibility of human ingenuity. The Golden Thread (2018) surveys the role of fabrics in numerous epochs and cultures, making it clear that fabric has always been more than simply clothing – it is an ever-evolving vehicle for human ingenuity and achievement.
Ich bin begeistert. Ich liebe Bücher aber durch zwei kleine Kinder komme ich einfach nicht zum Lesen. Und ja, viele Bücher haben viel bla bla und die Quintessenz ist eigentlich ein Bruchteil.
Genau dafür ist Blinkist total genial! Es wird auf das Wesentliche reduziert, die Blinks sind gut verständlich, gut zusammengefasst und auch hörbar! Das ist super. 80 Euro für ein ganzes Jahr klingt viel, aber dafür unbegrenzt Zugriff auf 3000 Bücher. Und dieses Wissen und die Zeitersparnis ist unbezahlbar.
Extrem empfehlenswert. Statt sinnlos im Facebook zu scrollen höre ich jetzt täglich zwischen 3-4 "Bücher". Bei manchen wird schnelle klar, dass der Kauf unnötig ist, da schon das wichtigste zusammen gefasst wurde..bei anderen macht es Lust doch das Buch selbständig zu lesen. Wirklich toll
Einer der besten, bequemsten und sinnvollsten Apps die auf ein Handy gehören. Jeden morgen 15-20 Minuten für die eigene Weiterbildung/Entwicklung oder Wissen.
Viele tolle Bücher, auf deren Kernaussagen reduziert- präzise und ansprechend zusammengefasst. Endlich habe ich das Gefühl, Zeit für Bücher zu finden, für die ich sonst keine Zeit habe.
Hol dir mit Blinkist die besten Erkenntnisse aus mehr als 7.000 Sachbüchern und Podcasts. In 15 Minuten lesen oder anhören!
Jetzt kostenlos testen
Blink 3 von 12 - Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschheit
von Yuval Noah Harari
