Comb-making in medieval Novgard (950-1450) : an industry in transition
This is a descriptive and analytical study of combs used for the hygienic and aestheticpurposes of cleaning, disentangling and arranging hair. Hundreds of these products of professional artisans made out of skeletal materials and wood forming the basis of this research, derive from major excavation sites investigated during 1951-2000 in the medieval town of Novgorod (NW Russia). The site covers the extensive overall area of over 23,000sq.m bearing stratified waterlogged deposits and structures dating from ca 950 to ca 1450. The objects in the assemblage are analysed typologically (survey of comb morphological traits) and contextually (chronological and spatial distributional analyses).As a result, chronological trends and stylistic changes are outlined with regard to combs themselves and their relationship to the immediate environment of the propertiesthey originate from, as well as to broader contexts of the town quarters(Ends), Novgorod as a whole and, to a certain extent, to the complex of Northern European urban communities. The combs are used for gaining insights into the character and status of artisans through the analysis of aspects concerning the use of raw materials and application of specific techniques,and
Smirnova, Lyuba Igorevna
History ; Archaeology
Comb-making in medieval Novgard (950-1450) : an industry in transition. This is a descriptive and analytical study of combs used for the hygienic and aestheticpurposes of cleaning, disentangling and arranging hair. Hundreds of these products of professional artisans made out of skeletal materials and wood forming the basis of this research, derive from major excavation sites investigated during 1951-2000 in the medieval town of Novgorod (NW Russia). The site covers the extensive overall area of over 23,000sq.m bearing stratified waterlogged deposits and structures dating from ca 950 to ca 1450. The objects in the assemblage are analysed typologically (survey of comb morphological traits) and contextually (chronological and spatial distributional analyses).As a result, chronological trends and stylistic changes are outlined with regard to combs themselves and their relationship to the immediate environment of the propertiesthey originate from, as well as to broader contexts of the town quarters(Ends), Novgorod as a whole and, to a certain extent, to the complex of Northern European urban communities. The combs are used for gaining insights into the character and status of artisans through the analysis of aspects concerning the use of raw materials and application of specific techniques,and
making medieval industry transition descriptive analytical_study use clean disentangle arrange hair product professional artisan make skeletal_material wood forming basis derive major excavation_site investigate medieval_town site cover extensive overall area bearing stratify waterlogged deposit structure date object assemblage_analyse typologically survey morphological_trait contextually chronological_spatial distributional_analysis chronological trend stylistic change outline regard relationship immediate environment originate well broad contexts town quarter whole certain_extent complex northern_european urban_community use gain_insight character status artisans analysis aspect concern use raw material application specific technique