Papers by Sophia Vakirtzi
2023, Aελλόπος: τιμητικός τόμος για την Ίριδα Τζαχίλη
This paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary research on early wool craft in mainland ... more This paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary research on early wool craft in mainland and insular Greece between the 7th millennium (Early Neolithic) and the 3rd millennium B.C. (Early Bronze Age), a period devoid of textile remains in the archaeological record. An interdisciplinary methodology is implemented, combining zooarchaeology and technological analysis of textile tools. In the zooarchaeological approach, a synthetic reassessment of published caprine mortality profiles and sex ratios from Neolithic and Early Bronze Age sites is presented in order to detect patterns of flock construction. Furthermore, the Coefficient of Variation of published sheep bone measurements from the same contexts is estimated in order to trace skeleton size fluctuations attributable to sheep improvement efforts. Also, geometric morphometrics analysis is applied to sheep astragali from two case studies, Sitagroi, Drama, north Greece and Alepotrypa, Laconia, Peloponnese, south Greece, to identify changes in the sheep skeleton shape. In the technological approach, objects identified as spindle whorls in the archaeological literature regarding the periods in question are surveyed to detect significant shifts in the technological apparatus of yarn production in the period under study. The patterns deriving from the bibliographical survey as well as from a first-hand examination of tool assemblages from Sitagroi and Alepotrypa are discussed in the frame of the anthropology of technology. The technological approach also takes into consideration ethnographic data and the results of experimental archaeology published in the literature. The study concludes to a research hypothesis arguing for the possibility of wool craft being practiced already in the Greek Middle Neolithic (mid-6th millennium B.C.), and stresses the need for further interdisciplinary work to test this hypothesis.
Akrotiri, Thera. Forty Years of Research (1967-2007), 2021
Światowit, 2019
Fibre crafts are among the oldest technological practices of mankind. Although commonly associate... more Fibre crafts are among the oldest technological practices of mankind. Although commonly associated with textile manufacture, twisted fibres in the form of threads have always had a wider range of use in everyday life. Strings and ropes constitute a humble but essential category of fibre products deriving from the same technology and organic matter as threads. Due to their organic nature, however, they are rarely preserved in the archaeological record, unless special environmental conditions occur. This paper explores the research potential of the imprints of threads and strings in a study focusing on the alternative uses of fibre-spun artefacts. The focus is on the Bronze Age Aegean imprints of threads and strings preserved on objects made of clay and on wall paintings recovered at Akrotiri on Thera. The technical properties of the original threads and strings are evaluated through observation of their imprints, and the fibre technology used for their production is assessed. The met...
The Competition of Fibres, pp. 111-126, 2020
Akrotiri, Thera. Middle Bronze Age pottery and Stratigraphy. Vols. I-II. The Archaeological Society at Athens Library Series Nos 318-319., 2019
"First Textiles. The beginnings of Textile Manufacture in Europe and the Mediterranean" edited by M. Siennicka, L. Rahmstorf and A. Ulanowska, 2018
Papadopoulos, S., Palli, O., Vakirtzi, S. and Psathi, E. 2018 Aghios Ioannis, Thassos : The Economy of a Small Coastal Site Dated to the Second Half of the 4th Millenium BC, in S. Dietz, F. Mavridis and Z. Tankocic (eds.) "Communities in Transition", Oxbow 2018, 357-366.
Vakirtzi, S., Koukouli-Chrysanthaki C., Papadopoulos S. Spindle whorls from two prehistoric sites on Thassos, in Harlow, M., Michel, C. and Nosch, M.L. (eds.) Prehistoric, Ancient Near Eastern and Aegean Textiles and Dress. An interdisciplinary anthology, Oxbow Books 2014, pp. 43-57
Books by Sophia Vakirtzi
Yarn Production in the Aegean : a study of typology, functionality and distribution of spindle wh... more Yarn Production in the Aegean : a study of typology, functionality and distribution of spindle whorls found in settlements and cemeteries. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Crete, 2015.
Postdoctoral research by Sophia Vakirtzi
Το διεπιστημονικό μεταδιδακτορικό πρόγραμμα στοχεύει στη διερεύνηση των συνθηκών εμφάνισης της ερ... more Το διεπιστημονικό μεταδιδακτορικό πρόγραμμα στοχεύει στη διερεύνηση των συνθηκών εμφάνισης της εριουργίας στο Αιγαίο και τον ηπειρωτικό Ελλαδικό χώρο κατά τη Νεολιθική περίοδο (7η - 4η χιλιετία π.Χ.) και την Πρώιμη Χαλκοκρατία (3η χιλιετία π.Χ.). Το κοινωνικο-οικονομικό πλαίσιο της εκμετάλλευσης του τριχώματος των αιγοπροβάτων για την κλωστοϋφαντουργία των κοινοτήτων που διαβιούσαν στα νησιά του Αιγαίου και στον ηπειρωτικό ελλαδικό χώρο σχετίζεται με κομβικά ερευνητικά ζητήματα της Αιγαιακής προϊστορίας, όπως οι γεωργο-κτηνοτροφικές πρακτικές των Νεολιθικών κοινοτήτων, η ανάδυση της τεχνικής εξειδίκευσης και του καταμερισμού εργασίας και η διαμόρφωση των πολιτικών οικονομιών των ανακτορικών κέντρων της 2ης χιλιετίας π.Χ. Σε αυτό το πρόγραμμα διεξάγεται πρωτογενής έρευνα σε περιπτώσεις μελέτης όπου αξιολογούνται αρχαιολογικά και βιοαρχαιολογικά δεδομένα τα οποία συνιστούν οικονομικούς και τεχνολογικούς δείκτες της προϊστορικής εριουργίας, συνεκτιμώντας σχετική εθνογραφική έρευνα και πειραματικές εφαρμογές.
Conference presentations by Sophia Vakirtzi
Τί εικόνες, μυρωδιές ή άλλες αισθήσεις έφερναν στο νου τους οι νησιώτες και οι νησιώτισσες όταν σ... more Τί εικόνες, μυρωδιές ή άλλες αισθήσεις έφερναν στο νου τους οι νησιώτες και οι νησιώτισσες όταν σκεφτόντουσαν, κουβέντιαζαν ή έψαχναν για τα υλικά της υφαντικής; Τί μπορεί να άγγιζαν, να μύριζαν, να έβλεπαν, σαν αποτέλεσμα της εργασίας και της προετοιμασίας όσων χρειάζονταν να γίνουν, προτού φτάσουν τα νήματα στον αργαλειό; Πώς μπορούμε σήμερα εμείς να φανταστούμε τα τοπία που διαμόρφωναν οι πρώτες ύλες της υφαντικής, και η αναζήτησή τους στα νησιά, μέσα στη μακρά διάρκεια της ιστορίας, από τα τέλη της νεολιθικής περιόδου, μέχρι και την πρώιμη νεότερη εποχή; Με αυτά τα ερωτήματα να μας καθοδηγούν, θα συζητήσουμε παραδείγματα νησιωτικών τοπίων, διαμορφωμένων από την εργασία για την προμήθεια υφαντικών πρώτων υλών.
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Papers by Sophia Vakirtzi
Books by Sophia Vakirtzi
Postdoctoral research by Sophia Vakirtzi
Conference presentations by Sophia Vakirtzi
Some of the most common spindle whorl motifs and designs, such as the zig-zag, the six-pointed star, concentric circles, chevrons, triangles (often hatched), dotted borders, are also found in the Aegean seal motifs repertoire. Spindle whorls and seals are distinct classes of Aegean material culture: the whorls were the tools of an essential textile craft, spinning thread, and their motifs were usually incised, and less often impressed or stamped on wet clay. Seals were part of the technology employed in sealing practices for administrative purposes, control of various resources, transactions, or signification of ownership/identity. Their motifs were usually (but not exclusively) carved on materials harder than clay, such as stone or ivory.
Notwithstanding these distinctions, the manufacturers of both classes of objects were often drawing from a common repertoire of designs. The purpose of this paper is to bring to attention the ubiquitous motifs on these two different media in the Aegean Bronze Age cultures and to discuss whether analysis of seal motifs may inform our understanding of the potential function or meaning of motifs on spindle whorls.