The Thread of History: How the Spinning Wheel, Spindle, and Loom Helped Build Civilization
14.99 €
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The Thread of History: How the Spinning Wheel, Spindle, and Loom Helped Build Civilization
14.99 €
The Thread of History is a stunning account of the most influential commodity in human history.
The history of humankind is the history of textiles, as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, our insatiable appetite for fabric has driven technology, economics, politics, and culture. Virginia Postrel unravels this stunning narrative, drawing together the latest research in archaeology, economic history, and the natural sciences. From the Minoans exporting wool dyed purple to Egypt to the Romans clad in expensive Chinese silk, the textile trade forged the transcontinental highways of the ancient world. Without the revenues of textiles, there would have been no Renaissance, no Mughal Empire; only because of them would we have banks and accounting, Michelangelo’s David, and the Taj Mahal. Along with textiles, the alphabet and arithmetic spread throughout the world, and later the textile industry stimulated important chemical discoveries and taught people to use binary code.
The history of humankind is the history of textiles, as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, our insatiable appetite for fabric has driven technology, economics, politics, and culture. Virginia Postrel unravels this stunning narrative, drawing together the latest research in archaeology, economic history, and the natural sciences. From the Minoans exporting wool dyed purple to Egypt to the Romans clad in expensive Chinese silk, the textile trade forged the transcontinental highways of the ancient world. Without the revenues of textiles, there would have been no Renaissance, no Mughal Empire; only because of them would we have banks and accounting, Michelangelo’s David, and the Taj Mahal. Along with textiles, the alphabet and arithmetic spread throughout the world, and later the textile industry stimulated important chemical discoveries and taught people to use binary code.
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