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Elizabeth Wayland Barber
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Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years - Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times First Paperback Edition.

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 550 ratings
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"A fascinating history of…[a craft] that preceded and made possible civilization itself." ―New York Times Book Review

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 new 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.
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Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    0393313484
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0393313482
  3. Edition
    First Paperback Edition.
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    January 1, 1996
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
  8. Print length
    336 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Elizabeth Barber is as knowing and perceptive as any archaeologist-author in sight…Her topic is wonderfully fresh."
― Scientific American

About the Author

Elizabeth Wayland Barber is the author of Prehistoric Textiles, The Mummies of Ürümchi, and The Dancing Goddesses, among other works. She is professor emerita of archaeology and linguistics at Occidental College, and lives in Utah.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; First Paperback Edition. (January 1, 1996)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393313484
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393313482
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1360L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 550 ratings

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Elizabeth Wayland Barber

Elizabeth Wayland Barber

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
550 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Marie
5.0 out of 5 stars Well-researched, fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
Reconstructs domestic life through physical artifacts, literature and linguistics. I read it every few years. Much more interesting and engaging than he title would suggest.
One person found this helpful
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ScotDeerie
5.0 out of 5 stars A book all women should read
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2009
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I'm not a weaver. I once tried to spin wool and almost put my eye out. I have a mild interest in anthropology/archeology but, as a woman, this book satisfied a wonderful little niche for knowledge inside me that I didn't even know was empty.

It is absolutely fascinating how the authoress explains how traditional jobs(hunting/gathering/herding/weaving/etc.) were sorted out by sheer necessity of gender, ie: women had to stay home to gestate and raise children; men could roam farther away from home and undertake more dangerous tasks.

The details and research seem to be plentiful as well as fascinating and it made me imagine the days when a woman was never seen without her spindle in hand, making the thread to produce the cloth that her family would need endlessly. (There is even a tale about a solid gold spindle found by archaeologists.) Just the thought of the amount of work it took to produce a single thread makes me almost swoon at the thought of a person being laid out in yards of cloth just to be buried.

If you don't weave, this is a very interesting book. If you are a weaver, you have to read this book from cover to cover and keep it on your bookshelf forever. It's priceless information for any woman/weaver.

Update, October 2011: Because of this book, I have started spinning and weaving. I'm rereading the book as I learn how to make my own yarn from wool roving. I feel the connection to all the thousands and thousands of years of spinners that have gone before me. It's amazing how relaxing spinning can be and weaving is equally zen-like. Warping a loom takes a long time but it still makes me feel that connection to all weavers and I find it very calming while I'm doing it. Find a local weavers guild, get this book and get going! You'll love it.
21 people found this helpful
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D Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reading
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2017
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Elizabeth Wayland Barber is an archaeologist, linguist, textile expert, and a teacher. In this book, she will explain the "humble yet crucial" invention of string, and take you on a tour of the places and people who so brilliantly used that string "in taming the world to human will and ingenuity." Her writing is lucid and full of insight. All stated facts are backed up with extensive sources. I borrowed this book from the library and took adequate notes yet... my notes didn't capture the spirit of the writing: Barber is telling a story that she obviously loves. She brings the lives of the ancients' to life. I wanted to hear her words again, so, a year after reading it the first time, I purchased the book to hear her tell the story again.
27 people found this helpful
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Sarah ms
4.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommened!
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2017
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This is a fascinating book. The author delves deeply into linguistic connections between various early civilizations to pinpoint the place and time of certain innovations and cultural connections in textile making as women's work. This scholarly work then goes on to cover the rise of textiles as an industry in early trade, and economic power when, of course, men became much more involved in it. It is a little dry in the beginning and might put a non textile aware person off, but get through that, and it becomes much more accessible.
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lwd
5.0 out of 5 stars Read this before and it’s awe inspiring.
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2023
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One of the best books about prehistoric and early historic about the life of women.
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gustava
5.0 out of 5 stars Women's Work Mattered Way Back
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2014
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As a woman who weaves, though I do not yet consider myself a weaver, I was intrigued by the premise of this book: that with fiber arts, even 20,000 years ago, women were economically important within their societies. Knowing that spinning and weaving are not simple tasks, but finding little information on the economic importance of these activities, I turned to Barber's work, which is well-researched and thoughtful. She writes easily, including photographs and diagrams which further help explain her points. And, kudos, she includes maps!!!

Drawing on her own knowledge of and experience with weaving, she sets the work of medieval and early modern women into the history and culture of their times.

Readable, accessible, and fascinating: I'm delighted to have run across this book, and recommend it to those interested in the often untold story of the contributions of "women's work" to the economy of their communities.
11 people found this helpful
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Marjorie, Easy Walks in Massachusetts
5.0 out of 5 stars I read this first 25 years ago and still appreciate what the author shares
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2023
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A friend loaned me this book probably 25 years ago (maybe more!) and I have pondered the stories and observations the author writes about. I finally needed my own copy and just finished reading it. Nice humor, insights into daily life so many thousands of years ago. Worth reading.
4 people found this helpful
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John Thomas Ciappetta
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2019
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I just finished reading this. I have been interested in the history of textile manufacturing for the past ten years or so and was pleased to find this at Amazon.com. I learned a great deal about looms and fabric due to the extensive work by the author. The one thing that puzzles me however is the 'sextist' attitude on the part of Elizabeth Wayland Barber. She concluded that women were the manufacturers of all looming and tailoring and that is something that cannot be verified from her research.Still, I enjoyed it thoroughly and learned a great deal. Books such as this should be part of every school's educational agenda. How else will students learn anything about the struggles of humankind without an education that covers in depth exactly what our ancestors had to do for survival?
21 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Daniela Gauzzi Carneiro Nogueira
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantástico!! Excelente o trabalho de pesquisa da autora. Recomendo
Reviewed in Brazil on December 14, 2021
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Quem se interessa pela arqueologia do trabalho de tecelagem das mulheres vai aproveitar esse livro.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon-Kunde seit 1997
5.0 out of 5 stars Lieblingsbuch - Zeitreisen für geschichtlich Interessierte
Reviewed in Germany on July 25, 2019
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Dies ist eins meiner Lieblingsbücher, das ich alle paar Jahre wieder lese.
Die Autorin beschreibt die Herstellung von Textilien als originäre Beschäftigung
von Frauen, da sie während der Betreuung von Kleinkindern ausgeübt werden kann.
Die Entwicklung des Webens wird von Anfang an gezeigt mit vielen spannenden
Einblicken in die unterschiedlichsten Kulturen.
Die Autorin schreibt unglaublich interessant und obwohl dies ein Sachbuch ist,
liest es sich wie ein spannender Roman und trägt mich zuverlässig in andere Zeiten.
Die anderen Bücher der Autorin, wie z.B. The Mummies of Urumchi kann ich auch
sehr empfehlen!
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Tira of the Groves
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book
Reviewed in Canada on May 11, 2015
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Women's Work: The Frist 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber is a fascinating and informative journey into the manufacture of textiles from the Stone Age through to Late Bronze Age. Barber uncovers this story through archaeology and language, while at the same time providing interesting glimpses into the manufacture of garments created from string and yarn. This book fills in a empty area of prehistory in that it shows us the creative genius of our ancient foremothers. As a spinner, dyer, weaver, and knitter I greatly appreciate discovering this connection to my own ancestresses.
4 people found this helpful
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Bonnie McClellan-Broussard
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating book, excellent vendor.
Reviewed in Italy on August 23, 2015
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Book arrived exactly on time, good price, good condition. The content of the book is wonderful if you're interested in the history of textile development but not a student looking for a textbook. At several points the author stretches to propose her own 'why's' regarding some developments but, as a reader, I felt that she was honest about where she had more definite information and where it was supposition. Engagingly written and I'm sure I'll have occasion to read it a second time.
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Carine
5.0 out of 5 stars very interesting book
Reviewed in France on June 11, 2012
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THis book was a discovery but I realy enjoyed reading it. It is well written,
progressing through the history with logic and academic knowledge. What amazed me
is the parallel between archaeology and linguistics. E. Barber gives us an in-depth
and well-researched analysis of textile history. I would advise this book
to the people really interested in the subject.
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