Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times

"A fascinating history of…[a craft] that preceded and made possible civilization itself." —New York Times Book Review

New discoveries about the textile arts reveal women's unexpectedly influential role in ancient societies.

Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing the first clothing created from spun fibers. In fact, right up to the Industrial Revolution the fiber arts were an enormous economic force, belonging primarily to women.

Despite the great toil required in making cloth...