Neolithic Clothing in the Game?

While a loincloth or string skirt is comfy, sometimes nothing beats a leather wrap. Both men and women could wear them (cultures may have had specific rules, of course). I made a quick one using deer leather and little white beads (instead of bone beads, which are too large to use at 1:6 scale).

Deer leather, beads and thread. I had to use cotton fiber thread as my hand-spun flax cord is too thick for 1:6 scale.

Obsidian tools cut through deer leather like a hot knife through butter. Also, clean edges! I’ve used this tool for the last 10 years :stuck_out_tongue:

The bone beads are glass in this case. I have real bone beads, but they are too large for 1:6 scale. I have a real bone awl for punching holes, but I use a needle due to the tiny holes I must make.

The doll wears the skirt without issue. She wraps the cloth around her waist, then binds it with a leather thong (long cord of leather, not the undergarment of the same name). She folds the top over the belt completing the skirt.

Note: The doll is holding unspun flax! \o/

It’s comfy protects the upper legs during stone working or walking through the brush. Should could also wear leggings if it were cold.

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Smelly and toxic as understand from watching Dirty Cities, Britain

While we are on the subject of clothing, let’s not forget…

Masks!!!

Masks were worn by many different cultures throughout history. Discoveries of masks from the Neolithic suggest this practice wasn’t confined to modern times.

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/49373

This LBK culture woman (Germany, C. 5500BCE) wears a wooden painted fox mask. Masks may have been worn for rituals and perhaps other tasks, though we cannot be sure.

This is the same woman with a bunch of her possessions before her. In her hands, she holds her precious wooden fox mask.

NOTE: The original photo is accurate to the period. The photo is summer, so no top. I censored it for the forum. The original is here: Original Artwork

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What’s smelly an toxic?
The tanning process?

My bad the tanning process. And that was in the 1800 era. I know tanning hides using sunlight is not a problem I believe.

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Yep, there are many techniques. 1800’s tanning was epic rank, as I have heard lol

The doll (if she were real) might have used tannins from water + leaves and bark, held without a wooden dugout-boat-looking trough.

As well as Bone, bark, and fur armor. The fur armor can also double as camouflage. It was not unusual for native Americans to use the common plants and animal furs as concealment as well as a way to frighten the enemy in combat. A good example would be. “The Thirteenth Warrior” with Antonio Banderas. The natives wore bear armor and used bear claws as weapons.

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I am working on making more full size Neolithic reproduction outfits. I will post more pictures and how they are made in the hopes the Developers might find them useful.

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The Loincloth - Humanity’s First Real Garment

This week I sat down and made a Loincloth, probably the first (covering) garment ever made by our species. Sometimes, the loincloth is divided into: Loincloth (attaches in back and hangs over the front, not back) and Breechcloth (hands over front and back, often longer) and Apron (hangs down front but does not cover underneath).

I am going to be making leggings and a shirt too, but this all starts with a loincloth (breechcloth). I started with deer leather (suede). I couldn’t afford a long enough piece for a single piece, so I had to connect two pieces. A breechcloth is typicaly about 90% the length the wearer is tall.

The loincloth is the primary garment of most Neolithic people. Most other clothing would likely be removed in the heat or when inside a warm home (leggings/etc are uncomfortable in huts… trust me lol). In the screenshots for the game, you see the men wearing them almost exclusively, while the women wear apron loincloths. More complex clothing has probably not been created by the developers, yet, though I suspect it will. \o/

A loincloth may be simple, but it may also be highly decorated. I may sew shells onto this garment or add paint. Our ancestors loved adding little bits of personality to their garments. :slight_smile:

[4 sqare feet of suede]

[A piece of obsidian easily cuts the deer leather into two long pieces with minimal effort]

[A good obsidian piece is quicker than a knife or scissors and faster]

[A mere 10 minutes later, I have two long pieces (about 0.8 meters, long, each)]

[I broke my bone awl, so I used a metal awl instead. Awls punch holes in leather. I will make a new one, later]

[Using flax cord, I quickly lace the pieces together into a single panel]

[Flax is easy to spin and very strong. I sewed both sides making the panels very strong]

[Underneath, it looks quite nice. This breechcloth is ready for use!]

[The mannequin wears it well. She is protected from bushes, brambles, and her modesty is ensured. The breechcloth is actually more covering than many other garments! Also, it’s quite comfy to wear (unless it’s hot/humid or gets wet)]

[The backside is well covered, too. This ensures sitting isn’t uncomfortable]

Next, I need to make leggings and sandals/boots/shoes. After that, a leather top.

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Is it too long? Very cool work you do.

That really depends on the wearer. I’ve learned most of these garments in the woods for extended time to get a feel for how they felt when used so I could better to pick them in my books. Reading and academic paper is useful, but you don’t get a real feel for the clothing and its practicality without trying it. A long loincloth or breechcloth feels more comfortable than a short one as the inner component can be loosened without the risk of the excess front or back pulling through the waist cord. You don’t notice this unless you begin working with making fires or kneeling. Also, the length helps keep you warmer in the cold as it traps more warm air.

In this case, I was also re-creating the loincloth worn by a character in my book. She wears hers quite long.

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Pics! Pics! Pics! To weave wool or linen. Personal photos from the MAN.


Neolithic weaving loom


The loom’s ploughshares


1) Loom weights? 2)Clay bobbin. 3) Loom weight. 4) Neddles

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I can attest personally to that looms accuracy. I’ve set there weaving linen on a similar Loom, though mine was vertical, the same way. It hurts your fingers and it’s mind-numbing work. The best thing to do is set a few of those looms together with people you can chat with.

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Just to stress the importance of that for the socializing aspect of the game: the “main square”, taking water in the well or the river, shared activities in general (hunting, fishing, building, playing together, for both children & adults) definitively needs to be taken into account – though I suspect the devs already did…

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Even the quickest glance at modern tribal societies will quickly show that communal work is VERY common.
Activities like spinning and weaving take hours each day, and caring for the children while chatting will help this pass.
It takes me hours to spin a few meters of good thread and long to make cloth.

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Ordering leather tonight to make Neolithic leggings.
I’ll be sure to post photos and info on their construction in a few days.
After that, maybe a top of some sort.

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Clothing Examples Needed - Can You Help?

I would love it if anyone else has any really good links/images of actual Neolithic clothing found. As you know, most clothing is destroyed over time, but some (such as Otzi the Iceman) have survived. Illustrations and photos would be best, I suspect.

I think this would help Ancient Cities when they start working on clothing. Please post away \o/
Clothing is Super Important and so often ignored. They didn’t wear burlap sacks or those silly cloth tunics you always see depicted. =/

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I was reading an article on the Otzi Iceman and the dimensions of his loincloth were much smaller than mine.
Otzi’s was 100x33cm, whereas mine is 160 x 20cm. This means that his was quite short in the front, but it also means he could make it from one single length of leather. (his was actually many strips sew together, each about 100cm long).

His was sheep hide, whereas mine is deer hide.

Also, his leggings were 65cm long, whereas the ones I am making should be about 61cm long, about the same (51cm around at widest part).

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I have begun work on a set of authentic early Neolithic deer leather leggings. Before cutting the leather to make the leggings, I used it to quickly photograph what a simple leather wrap looks like. The leather wrap is so simple, in its most primitive undecorated form, it may almost be simpler than the loincloth itself. It is simply a length of leather that has been scraped and generally tanned, wrapped around the waist like cloth, and fastened with a cord.

While it is possible the wrap could simply be tucked in like a towel, this is not very secure. Cultures with people who are known to walk around with cloth wrapped around their waist and tucked-in typically use longer pieces of cloth. Leather is smaller, and the point of the wrap is to not have to do any sewing.

As you can see, it is a simple, light and versatile garment. A man or woman who wears this will protect their legs while working but can easily remove it if they need to get in the water. It can be worn with leggings and other garments if the weather is cooler. It is effectively a skirt or a kilt.

Notice that the sides are tied in a bow, then the tight leather top is pulled down to hold the cord firmly in place.

Also, this is the back.

While the model that I use wears some body decorations and feathers hanging from the front, much more elaborate decorations could be made and the leather itself could be cut as needed. Here’s a picture of a better cut leather app which uses shells for decoration.

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Neolithic Leather Leggings

While leather wraps and loincloth’s protected the groin, they were not always effective at protecting the legs or keeping them warm. This is where leggings come in. In fact, leggings, with an accompanying breechcloth or skirt, were basically the original pants. All the way until the 1600s, people could be found wearing leggings and a codpiece, effectively performing the same role as a breechcloth and leggings in the Neolithic. I suspect leggings were invented in the Mesolithic (does anyone know?), but they were definitely in use in the Neolithic. Otzi the Iceman was found murdered wearing a pair.

I set forth to make a pair using as authentic of material and tools as I could. I studied as much information as I could about the topic before deciding on dear leather and dear sinew for the stitching. I have often used flax for stitching, but I felt that sinew would be more appropriate given its availability, especially if one has obtained dear leather. Otzi’s leggings were stitched using sinew.

In case you were wondering, I wore this outfit for quite some time (as well as a previous one that I made a few years ago) In order to get a good feel for what it’s like to wear one. During the winter, they are quite warm but prone to sudden drafts. A skirt is a better covering over leggings, or perhaps a jacket. In the summer, it can get quite hot in the leggings will quickly be discarded, the breechcloth alone being quite comfortable on a warm summer day. The fall in the spring are probably the best times for these garments.

(NOTE: This is supposed to be an LBK culture item from ~5500BCE, perhaps Germany)

The leather hangs ready to be used. I need only select the pieces that are long enough and wide enough to fit the leg of the manikin. This require simple measurements. I can imagine a a woman lying on the floor patiently waiting as her sister made marks on an old, worn piece of leather indicating the shape of the leggings she would soon craft.

I have questionable skills at getting shapes for clothing cut correctly. This is normally not a problem as cloth is cheap, the leather is certainly not. I used a piece of linen to make a test shape to ensure I was correct and then used the same piece linen is a pattern to cut from. I suspect that my Neolithic counterpart would not have done this, not only because linen is very much too valuable to use for such a procedure, but also they probably had significantly more artistic skills than I do. :slight_smile:

The leather is easily cut using a sharp obsidian tool. If you look closely, you can see the scoring I made up the leather, serving the same purpose that a modern sharpie pen mark would have made. Quite frankly, I can cut the leather about as fast with this obsidian as I could with city other tool.

Looking at the pattern on top of the leather, you see how poorly of a job I did cutting the linen. Ironically, the obsidian cut the leather with much greater precision.

My bone awl is still broken, So I ended up using a male to punch the holes in the letter. I did not feel that this was wrong as I have used a bone awl so many times before and fully know of its utility. Using deer sinew, I carefully thread the holes together stitching the leggings into solid sewn leather tubes to put the legs in. My Neolithic counterpart would have had access to a fresh supply of sinew and she would have used it like duct tape is used today.

The completed leggings took about four hours to make. They are quite heavy and are attached to the manikin with the separate belt to ensure they don’t way down and pull off the breechcloth, an embarrassing situation for my Neolithic counterpart. The braided flax cord belt above the breechcloth holds the leggings, while the leather cord below holds the breechcloth. You can think of this is working the way lingerie panties (breechcloth) and the garter belt (braided flax cord) holding up the stockings (leggings) are not typically connected in classical lingerie.

A side view shows that the legs are fully protected and the two belts hold different weights and are not connected to one another. This means the Neolithic person could wear her leggings small gathering food and checking rabbit traps in the woods to protect her legs from brambles, but when the day became hot and she decided to work in the field, she could easily remove the leggings stay cool while leaving the breechcloth intact.

The butt is fully covered by the breechcloth, the leggings hang low enough not to rub against the but when moving. Leggings needed to either cover the butt, such as pants, or hang below the but to prevent this rubbing affect. Over time, it can cause irritation. The only way to learn about this is to wear such a garment for an entire day.

A frontal view reveals that all lower modesty has been accounted for, the legs protected as well as the crotch. The cord which holds the leggings is heavy-duty and could easily carry a pouch were a knife. While her upper body is exposed, I will eventually make a shirt to take care of this. Likely during the summers, she would have left the upper body uncovered is covering it serves only modern-day modesty.

Unrelated to the leggings themselves, I gave her many upper body decorations so the manikin would appear more visually balanced. Just because she does not worry shirt does not mean that her upper body would be completely bare. She has a necklace of feathers, two necklaces of bone beads, a rock and clay pendant, and a braided flax cord. I made these chords by hand by spinning flax. The beads were purchased as I simply don’t have time to hand drill that many bone beads.

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