the fact that it turned out so pretty makes me thing even more that it could be a net, just because it looks so good that it makes sense for it to be a style
Might be because I work food service, but the first glimpse of the bust had my brain saying "ah, yes, an ancient hair net, obviously." Could it not be a softer netting that's meant to encapsulate the hair and keep it out of the way while, say, cooking or cleaning? Keeps hair out of the food, as well as out of the fire, sincewe all know long hair and open flame don't mix very well. And generally up not in danger of falling into any mucky business tending to anything else. Love the information on the channel, by the way. Exactly the kinds of things I'm interested in, in a practical sense.
I remain amazed at your abilities with natural fibres; equally amazing to think that 25,000 years or so ago, a woman might have made a net just as you did for herself, her daughter or another girl or women and yet another person thought it significant enough to spend the time to capture her image with a piece of ivory and stone tools.
The technique of adding in more fiber to the twisted cord, especially when starting the cross rows to make the squares, reminds me a bit of making zig-zaggy gum wrapper chains in elementary school.
I love your use of natural fibres. I was using nettle fiber to make small cordage this fall with my 6 year olds st work. Som stinging was to be had, but nevertheless a fun project for kids to see where "we all started". So now they keep talking about how we can use forest "string". Whenever we find ourselves needing rope or string. Great job and awesome tutorials.
Wondering if some bees wax or rendered fat/oil could be part of the process? Either used on work-weary hands and fingers, or directly on the fibers to create a smooth finish to make the twists easier? Really enjoy your tutorials and the softness of your voice. I'm in US and adding, creating native garden, agricultural permaculture of useful plants. Definitely going to try the cordage making. It will keep my hands out of the chips bowl!!
As you I putting this together I am reminded of the snood, which probably had many names, that was used to contain women's hair down the ages The design connection appears quite strong
I definitely read it as some sort of headdress because of the way the lines converge on the crown. I think if it were braids the lines would be continuous from the forehead all the down the back of the head. As it is I see the headdress made of 2 main parts, a sort of shell shaped bit that sits on the top of the head and then a curtain that hangs down from the edge of the top portion. I can imagine it decorated with shells or other beads and maybe tassels of wool or feathers to give it weight, movement, and color. Of course that is only my imagination without any sort of evidence.
The even weight of the lines and the round part at the back make me read this as a hairnet as well. While it is possible for cornrows to be done in a similar way, it would be far more natural to represent that with the lines in one direction being much heavier and more defined than the perpendicular lines.
I think it's worth remembering the scale of the piece - it's very small, so it's really about how it looks from far away. Looking at the side-on view, you can see that the downwards lines *are* much heavier than the perpendicular ones - it really looks like individual, separate strands with occasional lines across it, and even slight flares at the bottom. The top part is very interesting though as it doesn't really fit in the same way.
Honestly, I'm still in the "braided hair" camp rather than the "woven head covering" camp, but its' still fascinating to see how someone might have woven a net so early in our history (whether for hair or any other purpose) from fibre fairly quickly using only hands for tools. Lovely work. Maybe make a similar skirt to go with it?
So fascinating, I had thought they were braids, but after reading the comments and looking at your finished net, I can see how it could be a net. Thank you for sharing.
This head-dress reminds me of a period re-enactment on film, where the bride wore a similar item made with gold wire and gold beads at the junctions. Fascinating!
This was super interesting to watch and the finished net was really pretty - far prettier than I ever thought nettles could be. I can also see a fancier one done with feathers, shells and flowers woven into it.
As usual, amazing work. While I was watching I had a thought of a head piece with shells interwoven within the openings. So collect a bunch of shells similar in size that would fit within all the openings. Drill two holes on each side near the narrow end of the shell large enough to string through the nettle then continue interweaving until all the shells are placed. I think it would look fabulous. End result would be a shell cap. :)
Love that idea! There are palaeolithic burials with beads in the region of the head, I'm going to have a go at interpreting something like that one of these days.
I was thinking of shells and beads too! Only not as decorative as you did. So clever. ^_^ I was thinking of just at the ends as a way to hold the knots and add a little weight. to keep it hanging straighter. Another thing the paleo peoples may have used to make cordage might have been the naturally shed coats of hair animals (vs wool) such as mastadon hair, or hair sheep? Is there any research on that possibility?
The hairnet reminded me of Macrame...so I looked at some of my Macrame books...and it actually kinda make sense...not just hair nets ...I mean even shirts and skirts could be made and even looked like ceremonial wear....
What I love best is that it brings the original alive! I’ve always wanted to connect with my foremothers in herbalism, and this hand and heart knowledge of plant use feels like that. Thank you so much, for your patience and exploration.
It looks great on your head with natural hair. Looks a bit rough when working on on the dummy. Goes to show these things were thought of too wear not in a museum ;) impressive really. And 8 hours of work, seems reasonable for long boring waiting times or winter work or summer when nature is so generous you have free time because foraging is ’quick work’ !
I didn't initially interpret this as a hairnet. It probably wasn't my first thought because of my cultural perspective, but the crown of the head convinces me that a net might be the right answer. I have done and had lots of cornrow braids in my life so I know they don't tend to taper at the crown of the head, at least not in modern times. This would have been handy for keeping hair out of the face!
I really appreciate that perspective. I'll never pretend this is going to be a perfect interpretation, but we learn a lot by trying different approaches
it makes sense that in the late 19th century they'd interpret this as a net, since it was so expected for women to cover their heads when going out, and had been for basically centuries! i'm in the braid camp, but i love this exploration.
I've just discovered this channel a week ago and I'm very excited with the informative videos! It's easy to imagine our ancestors working like this. For a long time, I've been thinking about making some cordage out of nettle fibres. Your videos gave me the confidence to process my first bunch of nettles a few days ago and soon I'll be making my first locally grown cordage! 😄 Thanks for sharing your passion!
The carving almost has a quilted, puffy look to the squares in the plaits. If it were plaited/interwoven with strips of rabbit fur would have that puffy look and give it a more practical winter headdress application.
Correctly interpretted or not Sally this has turned out to be a lovely accessory. Once I saw it covering your hair I started wondering if it was actually a bag originally (shower cap shaped) into which a woman bundled the long ends of her hair to keep it contained. Very much like a snood but not stretchy. Since the little head is damaged perhaps the bottom edge of the cap is missing.
That's an awesome talent. Probably used to catch fish and she wore it to keep her hair from flying while riding horse, carriage, chariot or hold cloth over her head then this fish net. Maybe she wore them as hose?
I love your videos, and you are such a sweet person, always with a little smile! You are also very good at explaining things without using intellectual words, despite you being an academic 👍🏾
I hope you don’t mind me mentioning this, Sally, but should your message say ‘lime bast’, rather than ‘line bast’? Thank you for another very interesting video. The depth of your knowledge and your skills are very impressive. As a former mechanical engineer, I remember the phrase ‘rough enough is tough enough’ being used a lot, meaning that the least degree of precision that is effective is the right degree of precision for any job, so I think your approach to the project is very much in keeping with that!
I feel it was more of a deer chamois with smocking stitchs to give it shape yet allows for the taught top yet soft folding which is draped down the sides to shape to the ropes of hair underneath on the young womans head.
I think that the hairnet interpretation resembles the original more closely than a complex braid interpretation based on the views presented in the article you showed. You have certainly shown that it is plausible. While the net pattern is more cleanly geometrical on the artifact, the whole piece is very stylized so I don't the roughness of the geometry of your net is significant.
I love your project! I think it came out very well for a first go. Adding longer cordage on the ends would help make up for not having the size you wanted. The long strands would give the impression of a nice finished look. I would finish the long cordage with either a knot at the end or a decorative wood or bone bead. Plaits would look beautiful also. You could use many things in the cordage as decoration! I’m not up to this step yet, but I am looking forward to trying it. 😊
Actually doesn't look bad when worn. I was dubious about the fashion value, and granted I have no idea what they would've considered to be pretty back then, but yeah; nicely made and nicely worn. A while back I made a length of cord out of regular old Florida grass. I used these stems that the grass uses to seed. They these tall single-strand stems so not bad for not really hunting for fibrpus material. I corded it without drying or anything, and I will say it shrunk and loosened the next day but even so it was pretty decent strength. Stellar strength by folding it in half and reverse cording it. Like I could put the sort of tension where my wrists sorta shook and the cord made a nice "thrum" sound. I'm sure if you had enough grass cord, maybe quadruple corded instead of double like I did, you could use it to dock a tiny boat or something. Not bad.
I have always wondered how people with curly, thick hair controlled it before technology. As an owner of such a head I would absolutely wear something like this rather than tie it up in tight braids, which hurts after a few days. This is also preferable to fabric or skin covering in warm weather because thick hair is hot, hot, hot! It looks almost as if she has woven the covering right into her hair on the sides. I wonder….
To me it looks like her natural hair was given some long twists and the hair net seems to have enough girth to lay over and hold them in place. Just beautiful
Thank you, Sally, beautifully explained, as per usual, you always make one feel welcome and actually there. Things that goes through one's mind, you verbalise. I love listening to you. You make these complicated things seem possible. Thank you again.
Oh my goodness I LOVE this. I'm off to try it straight away with every scrap of whatever I can find laying around thank you so much for again sharing something so wonderful and lovely with us.
I think she wore what you made. And I believe she did so for the same reason we would wear a hair net. Imagine her outdoor and the winds coming from behind or from changing directions. She wouldn't want to have her long (wet) hair beating against her face. Such a cover made from nettles would hold her hair in place or at least out of her face, so she can concentrate on the world around her.
Fascinating work! I wonder how such a light-weight hairnet would have been secured to the head. Long pin woven between the hair and the netting, perhaps, or decorative stone beads at the ends as weights. Perhaps it was made of a heavier material, like leather thong instead of plant fiber.
Seems like the hair net would act like almost a velcro with those little tiny pieces sticking off from stem, and stay on the head pretty well as is. Looks more fancy than something you'd wear while any strenuous activity. Just me thinking.....
It looks like it could be the base for something much more elaborate, like adding strands to make a wig or adding pearls. It doesn't seem very practical to hold hair in place, unless there were ropes that went under at the nape and wouldn't be featured on a carving. Anyways, it's a fantastic job you did. Some people really have the best dream jobs 😉
I'm not qualified to comment (I'm not a paleontologist, I even had to check my spelling of that word). As an artist, I wonder if this isn't a sort of "quilted" garment. The sculptor made a realistic image, so I accept that the little squares/rectangles are _raised_. Could this be a hood created out of a short-fir pelt or pelts held in place or ornamented with fiber strips? Could it be an early version of a quilted "puffy" hood made with two pelts stuffed with fur and sewn together in the pattern shown? This certainly is an advanced-looking piece, in terms of craft, fashion, and practicality if it is a warm hood. (To my eye, the sculpture does not appear to show the figure's true hair.) I've watched three of your videos now. I really enjoy them, and I learn a lot. Thank you.
Most likely they soaked the fibers before braiding! I braid long leaf pine needles! From the American South. We soak to get the ends off and to make the leaves pliable. Any organic marital I've woven has always called for soaking before weaving or braiding. It helps control the fibers. Your he'd piece came out beautiful! Good work! If anyone doesn't think it's work there very mistaken! Lol. Thanks for your video! I'm a fan! No! You got it right! I'm wondering if they braided there hair in with it?
how do they know its a woman and not a man I wonder... it seems like it could be just an assumption because of the lack of beard and the long hair, but men could look similarly, especially young men. Great job! it looks amazing
Well I imagine everything would have had to have a purpose.. Whats the purpose of this hair net,? Is it to hold down the hair so its not in your face of the wearer? then maybe add some beads at the ends to help with the weight. If its purely decorative then maybe once you figure out how to make it, you can experiment with different materials or fibers. But you did a fantastic job.
I'm of the belief that it's 2 pieces. A band across the top and a drape side to side. Or braids and a hair band. Excellent interpretation/recreation. It looks very nice worn.
It does look like there is a small cloth on top of head under the netting. Then it looks like her hair has separated sections that seem to be loosely twisted to create that sectioned look, then the netting seems to hold it all in place.
What I see in comparing what you made and the pictures in the beginning is maybe one row more forward to just before the hairline. And would they have "woven" their hair through it as a net, possibly? Much as you braid picking up a section at a time and weaving their hair downwards by columns. That might give the effect of the puffiness between the lines and the bottom of their hair would resemble the statue's ends.
Whilst watching you developed/adapted how to approach the first row of squares, the thought that perhaps the netting could've been made from coloured cordage. Perhaps dyed with ochre or whatever colour was revered/significant to their spiritual beliefs.
In my case, anything that keeps my crazy hair out of my eyes is good, and this felt fine on. I think the next one in finer fibre will be even better. We truly don't know what our palaeolithic counterparts intended though, and it may well be that the carving is intended as braids or something else entirely. Experimentation lets us explore possibilities though, and so far I like this net 🙂
I am a first time tree grower in a small orchard. I sweat a lot in this hot summer heat. I have been fancying such a product like this. The one to contain my hair so i would not loose precious work time braiding my hair. And at the same time it will be absorbing the sweaty mess and help convey that humidity into the air. I am most thankful to you. You are a blessing just in time. I was so desperate to contain my sweat and my hair at once. This option is fresher than wearing a typical red cotton hankie. I plan on making me a fancier one by adding tiny plastic pearls on mine and some heavier glass beads at the bottom. Also since it snows here in the wintertime i will make me one head net braided with wool fiber and feathers. My mind is now cascading with endless posibilities for design. Sally, this is the third video of your series i watch and i am hooked since i love all that is natural and primitive. You made me very HAPPY!!! A BIG THANKS!!!
My great uncle in the Mexican sierras donned a such cap his was interwoven with very long grasses. It looked quite bulky. It scared me…until we had to go out in the rain. I still remember what i now fancy to think of him looking like a bushman. An it still makes me laugh. His was made longer into a cape and it covered his whole body. The netting hung down to the middle of the back. I would fancy to make me one the like. But i don‘ t have access to that kind of grass as i saw the sweet grass from Virginia in the US
With that title, Sally, and since it's you, we never know if it's a net FOR hair, or a net FROM hair...😅😉 But absolutely an interesting project nonetheless!😁👍
@@SallyPointer 😂❤👍 Honestly I'd consider it a bit of a waste to use it on a non-utilitarian item, but it would look lovely.😅 But horsehair is pretty hard to get a hold of, so I'd save it for something that needs it.😉😊
do ou think the corde could have been controled by clips or heavier beads or something on the ends of the groups , like when ou spin wool from the puff to the cord. ? and do ou think they would have formed it over a rock or piece of pottery tokeep the shape and be able to leave it to work on the next time there was light.? I am thinking of how I used to twine vines together whe I was a little girl, tomake hats and hair bands and stick flowers in them/ we lived b a frog swamp so I could find all sorts of reeds and very thin viny bits and used to weave blankets for m dolls, and such, and I used to take a jump rope and beat them because I had seen wheat seperated from the stems in a video at elementary school, so I would gather my vines and all, and lay them on an old piece of sheet, over a log and whap- them with m woodend end of m jump roap, kocking all the twiggy bits off. my mom thought I was a changling or something, .lol.
