Hi everyone. This is probably the first time I have posted in this section, and I hope someone can give me some insights into ideas for Mesolithic clothing.
A friend and I are moving in this direction and putting together a group, and want to explore this period of time in both Europe and North America, with a strong focus on Europe. Things to do are familiar with the primitive community, including fire making, hunting and trapping, body art, bow making, etc, but I want to immerse myself a bit more in how a person would have lived, his material culture, and in the context of living in the bush for short and maybe extended time periods.
I am making the assumptions that clothing had to be rugged, comfortable, and adapted to a hunting and gathering mode of life. Buckskin seems the most logical choice of skins, but what other game animals were hunted in Europe during this age? Equipment would include the brand-spanking new invention of the bow
strke a light of pyrite and flint, stone tools (celts, knives, adze), and the atlatl would have, I think, still been a viable weapon for the hunt.
I'm picturing a skin shirt, fairly long and somewhat, but not too much tailored, either sewn with sinew or made with thongs that perhaps tie up the sides of the shirt? Breachclout and leggings for men. Possibly some sort of headgear. A mantle or cloak / robe for colder weather. Footgear was probably something like NA mos. I am also assuming some fringing would have been on the shirt, probably on the bottom heam. Welt seams, I am thinking.
I've look at the Otzi relics, and expect those will give me some clues to making this stuff. His quiver reminds me very much of a NA plains style quiver.
Thanks,
Dane
