These aspects of my research are particularly reflected in the Reform research areas focusing on ‘Resources and Knowledge’. In the field of Iron Age textile production and tradition in Austria and Germany – an area that has so far received relatively little attention – my work has a clear focus.
Textiles play, and have always played, a significant role in shaping identity within prehistoric societies. Clothing usually conveys a range of messages non-verbally, which can be understood both within a community and beyond. Clothing, in combination with jewellery or other forms of body modification, fundamentally always says something about one’s own identity. The Reform research field ‘Resources and Identity’ corresponds to this area of my research.
Because the production of textiles played a significant role in the societies of Iron Age Central Europe, it also encompassed many aspects of everyday life. It is not only the textile finds themselves that can provide insights into production; textile tools such as spindle whorls, loom weights and distaffs are also present in the finds from Dürrnberg. They are indispensable for understanding the work carried out in the everyday lives of the population and for distinguishing which tasks actually took place on site and which were outsourced due to a lack of resources or similar factors. The ‘Resources and Life Worlds’ section also addresses this topic and directs research attention towards a far broader economic mechanism in textile production at Dürrnberg.