Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 31/1. (2011)
Articles
Textile Structures and Techniques Identified in Neolithic and Copper Age Sites from Romania 35 On the other hand, ribbon type narrow textiles can be woven without using any sort of implements - the finger weaving method (Fig. 8/c) - or using small tools, known as band looms8 (Barber 1991, 116-117). Except for the band looms, which make use of heddles9 (Fig. 8/e) or rigid heddles10 (Fig. 8/f), the weaving methods using small implements could be placed at the limit of the woven technique and other advanced textile techniques such as warp twining (Seiler-Baldinger 1994, 68-77). They invariably produce structures similar to warp faced fabrics, sometimes with an identical appearance. For example, the warp twined structures produced by finger weaving (Fig. 8/c) and tablet weaving (Fig. 8/d) are similar to those made by warp twining method (Fig. 4) and half-weaving with shed reservation (Fig. 8/b). A special case is the half-weaving with alternate shed formation method (Fig. 8/a), by which there can be produced only warp-faced plain weaves. Fig. 8. Different methods of weaving narrow textiles. a. Half-weaving with alternate shed formation using a ‘bent-stick loom’ (after Broudy 1993, Seiler-Baldinger 1991); b. Half-weaving with shed reservation, c. Finger-weaving, d. Tablet weaving (after Seiler-Baldinger 1991); e. Weaving with heddles and loom weights (after Baioni Et Al. 2003); f. Weaving with a rigid heddle (after Evely 2000). Warp-faced plain weave (a, e, f); Warp-faced twined structure (b, c, d). Taking into consideration the loom weights found in numerous Neolithic settlements, we can conclude that the warp-weighted loom is the only type that can be clearly documented for 8 Examples of such primitive tools, called ‘bent-stick looms’ were used in Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, parts of South and North America (Hald 1950, 215, hg. 215; Hald 1980, 212, fig. 215; Broudy 1993, 96-98, fig. 5/34-38; Seiler-Baldinger 1994, 68). 9 For the usage of small looms with heddles, see: La Baume 1955, 62-64, fig. 49-50; Baioni Et Al. 2003, 106; Grömer 2010,106, Abb. 46. 10 In Romania, weaving with a rigid heddle is known by its traditional name of tesutul cu scändura (Apolzan 1944, 72-74, fig. 51-53; Mazäre 2008, 324-325, fig. 10-11; Zaharia 2008; 63, fig. 75). Even if currently it is ethnographically documented only for Transylvania (Apuseni Mountains, Hateg and Sibiu areas), it is believed that in the past it was used on a larger area. Another term used for rigid heddle is grätarul pentru tesut (Marian 2009, 45).
