Cottoning on to Cotton (Gossypium spp.) in Arabia and Africa During Antiquity

Bouchaud, Charlène; Clapham, A. R.; Newton, Claire; Tallet, Gaëlle; Thanheiser, Ursula

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-89839-1_18

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Cotton ( Gossypium sp. ), a plant of tropical origin appeared on the Arabian Peninsula during this period 4 , 5 , and provides important evidence for such exchange.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…BCE-beginning of the 1st mill. CE 4 , 8 . Textiles and texts show importation and introduction of cotton in Mesopotamia and Bahrain Island during the 1st mill.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first evidence of archaeological cotton on the Arabian Peninsula (apart from Bahrain Island) appears at the turn of the era at Hegra, in current north-western Saudi Arabia. The high proportion of cotton seeds among the archaeobotanical assemblages, their location in all parts of the residential area and their distribution from the late 1st to the early 4th c. CE likely indicates that cotton was cultivated locally in the oasis during Antiquity 4 , 5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strontium isotope evidence for a trade network between southeastern Arabia and India during Antiquity

Ryan

Dabrowski

Dapoigny

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Cotton (Gossypium sp.), a plant of tropical and sub-tropical origin, appeared at several sites on the Arabian Peninsula at the end of the 1st mill. BCE-beginning of the 1st mill. CE. Its spread into this non-native, arid environment is emblematic of the trade dynamics that took place at this pivotal point in human history. Due to its geographical location, the Arabian Peninsula is connected to both the Indian and African trading spheres, making it complex to reconstruct the trans-continental trajectories of plant diffusion into and across Arabia in Antiquity. Key questions remain pertaining to: (1) provenance, i.e. are plant remains of local or imported origin and (2) the precise timing of cotton arrival and spread. The ancient site of Mleiha, located in modern-day United Arab Emirates, is a rare and significant case where rich archaeobotanical remains dating to the Late Pre-Islamic period (2nd–3rd c. CE), including cotton seeds and fabrics, have been preserved in a burned-down fortified building. To better understand the initial trade and/or production of cotton in this region, strontium isotopes of leached, charred cotton remains are used as a powerful tracer and the results indicate that the earliest cotton finds did not originate from the Oman Peninsula, but were more likely sourced from further afield, with the north-western coast of India being an isotopically compatible provenance. Identifying the presence of such imported cotton textiles and seeds in southeastern Arabia is significant as it is representative of the early diffusion of the crop in the region, later to be grown extensively in local oases.

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“…Cotton ( Gossypium sp. ), a plant of tropical origin appeared on the Arabian Peninsula during this period 4 , 5 , and provides important evidence for such exchange.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…BCE-beginning of the 1st mill. CE 4 , 8 . Textiles and texts show importation and introduction of cotton in Mesopotamia and Bahrain Island during the 1st mill.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strontium isotope evidence for a trade network between southeastern Arabia and India during Antiquity

Ryan

Dabrowski

Dapoigny

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…Therefore, it is completely excluded that the investigated cotton comes from the White Nile basin but also from any area in Sudan where the bedrock is composed of radiogenic Precambrian granites and/or gneisses. While the evidence now strongly supports the indigenous origin of cotton used in Egypt and Sudan in Roman and later times (Wild et al 2008;Clapham & Rowley-Conwy 2009;Fuller 2014;Bouchaud et al 2018), the possibility of importing cotton and textiles via trade across the Red Sea must also be taken into account (Griffith & Crowfoot 1934), as the Arabian Peninsula and India were the centres of cotton cultivation and textile production during antiquity (Bouchaud et al 2011) and there are written sources, for example the Perpilus Maris Erythraei, indicating the import of Indian cotton to Arabia and Africa during the 1st century CE (Wild & Wild 2014). Very recently, Ryan et al (2021) provided isotopic data on ancient cotton seeds and fabrics excavated at Mleiha, an archaeological site (2nd-3rd century CE) situated in the Arabian Peninsula (United Arab Emirates).…”

Section: 2mentioning

confidence: 90%

“…In the Egyptian Western Desert, such conditions prevail on the western side of the Nile, where there is a vast plateau made of the Eocene limestones, characterized by 87Sr/86Sr values of 0.7077-0.7078. In several oases (Kharga, Dakhla, Kellis) situated at the foot of this plateau, cotton was clearly an established crop already by the 2nd-3rd century CE (Bowen 2001;Coombs et al 2002;Wild et al 2008;Bouchaud et al 2018). Moreover, there is also detailed documentation of irrigation systems and their careful supervision (Cuvigny et al 1993;Wuttmann 2001).…”

Section: 2mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Provenance of Ancient Cotton and Wool Textiles from Nubia: Insights from Technical Textile Analysis and Strontium Isotopes

Wozniak

Bełka

2022

J. African Arch.

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Late antique and medieval cotton and wool textiles found in the middle Nile Valley (Nubia, northern Sudan) were analysed for their technical characteristics and strontium (Sr) isotope composition. All wool textiles exhibit Sr isotope signatures consistent with the isotopic background of the region studied and are considered to be of local origin. However, a medieval wool kilim from Meinarti shows technical and aesthetic features suggesting its foreign Maghreb provenance. As this fabric dates back to the occupation of Meinarti by the Beni Ikrima tribe, it is suggested that the kilim was woven by the Beni Ikrima people from local Nubian raw material. The cotton samples tested come from abroad and document trade with the oases of the Egyptian Western Desert, the west coast of India, and perhaps also with the Arabian Peninsula or Pakistan.

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Cotton in Africa

Tallet¹

2021

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History

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Cotton in Africa during antiquity comes in various forms: seeds and fibers, of two different origins (Indian and African), yarns and fabrics. In addition to a circuit of cotton textiles imported from India and the South Arabian Peninsula, recent historical, archaeological, and archaeobotanical research has revealed an African culture of cotton and production of cotton fabrics, limited for the moment to the northeastern quarter of Africa. The very high added value of the product, which is also ecologically adapted to certain African environments, notably oases, has contributed to its integration into trans‐Saharan and Mediterranean connectivity. This entry presents the archaeological discoveries of cotton seeds, fibers, and textiles in northeast Africa and opens avenues of reflection on a cash crop inserted in African mobility and trade relations with the Roman Mediterranean, and its potential impact on social organization.

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Cottoning on to Cotton (Gossypium spp.) in Arabia and Africa During Antiquity

Cited by 17 publications

References 76 publications

Strontium isotope evidence for a trade network between southeastern Arabia and India during Antiquity

Strontium isotope evidence for a trade network between southeastern Arabia and India during Antiquity

The Provenance of Ancient Cotton and Wool Textiles from Nubia: Insights from Technical Textile Analysis and Strontium Isotopes

Cotton in Africa

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