The Prehistoric Development of Clothing: Archaeological Implications of a Thermal Model |
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Authors: | Ian Gilligan |
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Institution: | (1) School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia |
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Abstract: | This paper presents a thermal model for the prehistoric origin and development of clothing. A distinction is drawn between
simple and complex forms of clothing, with broad implications for the interpretation of paleolithic technological transitions
and the emergence of modern human behavior. Physiological principles and paleoenvironmental data are harnessed to identify
conditions requiring simple, loosely draped garments and the more challenging conditions that demanded additional protection
in the form of complex garment assemblages. No actual clothing survives from the Pleistocene, yet the archaeological record
yields evidence for technological and other correlates of clothing—more evidence than is generally supposed. Major innovations
and trends in the distributions and relative frequencies of lithic and other tool forms may reflect the changing need for
portable insulation in the context of fluctuating ice age climates. Moreover, the nonthermal repercussions of complex clothing
can be connected with archaeological signatures of modern human behavior, notably adornment. Alternative models are less parsimonious
in accounting for the geographical and temporal variability of prominent technological and other behavioral patterns in association
with environmental change. |
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