Women and textile production in Early Iron Age southern Italy

Women’s role in textile production of Southern Italy during the Iron Age has been amply demonstrated by archaeological, iconographic and literary evidence. In fact, textile craft became a symbol of the female sphere of life. Women’s contribution to the community as textile workers was recognized by the deposition of spinning and weaving implements in their burials. Every region and even every community had its own rules for the type and number of implements chosen to be deposited with the dead. Aspects such as gender, status, age and specialisation were expressed by different types and combinations of textile tools included as burial goods. This paper examines general implications of these practices for our understanding of the social and economic role played by women in the Early Iron Age communities of Southern Italy.