The fabric of civilization : how textiles made the world /
Postrel, Virginia, 1960-
The fabric of civilization : how textiles made the world / How textiles made the world. Virginia Postrel. - First trade paperback edition. - Basic Books 2021. - vii, 304 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Preface: The fabric of civilization -- Fiber -- Thread -- Cloth -- Dye -- Traders -- Consumers -- Innovators -- Afterword: Why textiles?
"The story of humanity is the story of textiles--as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, business, politics, and culture. In The Fabric of Civilization, Virginia Postrel synthesizes groundbreaking research from archaeology, economics, and science to reveal a surprising history. From Minoans exporting wool colored with precious purple dye to Egypt, to Romans arrayed in costly Chinese silk, the cloth trade paved the crossroads of the ancient world. Textiles funded the Renaissance and the Mughal Empire; they gave us banks and bookkeeping, Michelangelo's David and the Taj Mahal. The cloth business spread the alphabet and arithmetic, propelled chemical research, and taught people to think in binary code. Assiduously researched and deftly narrated, The Fabric of Civilization tells the story of the world's most influential commodity."--
1541617622 9781541617629
Textile fabrics--History.
Textile industry--History.
HD9850.5 / .P67 2021b
The fabric of civilization : how textiles made the world / How textiles made the world. Virginia Postrel. - First trade paperback edition. - Basic Books 2021. - vii, 304 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Preface: The fabric of civilization -- Fiber -- Thread -- Cloth -- Dye -- Traders -- Consumers -- Innovators -- Afterword: Why textiles?
"The story of humanity is the story of textiles--as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, business, politics, and culture. In The Fabric of Civilization, Virginia Postrel synthesizes groundbreaking research from archaeology, economics, and science to reveal a surprising history. From Minoans exporting wool colored with precious purple dye to Egypt, to Romans arrayed in costly Chinese silk, the cloth trade paved the crossroads of the ancient world. Textiles funded the Renaissance and the Mughal Empire; they gave us banks and bookkeeping, Michelangelo's David and the Taj Mahal. The cloth business spread the alphabet and arithmetic, propelled chemical research, and taught people to think in binary code. Assiduously researched and deftly narrated, The Fabric of Civilization tells the story of the world's most influential commodity."--
1541617622 9781541617629
Textile fabrics--History.
Textile industry--History.
HD9850.5 / .P67 2021b