GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN—According to a statement released by the University of Gothenburg, wool may have been produced on an industrial scale in northern Italy during the Bronze Age. University of Gothenburg archaeologist Serena Sabatini said that large numbers of textile tools and the teeth of sheep and goats have been recovered from archaeological sites in the Montale region. Analysis of strontium isotopes extracted from the teeth, which helps determine where the animals originated, indicates that most of the animals were born and raised in the area. Sabatini notes that the Bronze Age sheep did not produce as much wool as today’s animals, and large flocks would have been required in order to weave simple cloth. This wool was likely exported in exchange for other goods, Sabatini explained. To read about a massive wooden pool where a Bronze Age culture in northern Italy performed water rituals some 3,500 years ago, go to “Italian Master Builders.”

Source: archaeology.org