the Accused

Textiles have had a huge impact on the development of the contemporary world. Ever since humans discovered rubbing multiple strands of natural fibres together made them stronger, humans have experienced rapid and unprecedented growth in all areas. The patterns of global exchange have been created, shaped and transformed in a number of ways because of textiles and textile production.

Approximately 40,000 years ago humans survived by hunting and gathering and lived in small family like groups. Cave paintings have shown evidence of string production and sewing during this time. String was produced by twisting plant fibres together in order to make them stronger and longer and was usually produced by women while gathering food. This led to a large number of expansions, humans were now able to bind things, make fishing nets and bags, but most importantly they began to fashion different types of clothing. Some of the earliest “clothes” had more of a symbolic function then anything else. For example a string “skirt” was not worn for warmth or used as a covering, but was worn by women to show they were of childbearing age. Women who did not have children wore a slightly different skirt, which symbolized they did not do their part in society. Even though great advancements were made, twisting plant and animal fibres together had its limits.

It was not until around 10,000 years ago that humans started the slow process of domesticating certain types of plants and animals. Women in the Fertile Crescent began domesticating wheat, barley, and flax. Women also began using small backlooms, which allowed them to weave larger pieces and sew them together. Life in early agricultural societies was hard, but there were some advantages. As populati...

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...he passing of numerous laws to protect and remove children from the workplace. The Industrial Revolution also aided in the production of larger and stronger ships, such ships were used on the Atlantic Trade Route and by the English when they went on voyages of exploration. One such voyage brought them to the shores of Canada where further global exchanged happened. The English soon began to trade with the local first nations, and this quickly evolved from simple goods to into larger items. The European fashion trend of beaver hats along with the First Nation reliance on a number of European goods, shaped and transformed Canada into the nation it is today. There are several other examples of how patterns of global exchanged have been created, shaped and transformed by textiles and textile productions, but the examples found in this paper are the more profound ones.