| This dissertation investigates the variety of clothing options available to the ancient Western Anatolians from the seventh through the fourth centuries BCE as evidenced by archaeological remains, visual representations, and rare written sources. The body of the dissertation includes an analysis of the textile industries, a typological examination of the dress items, and three case studies of the tomb imagery in Western Anatolia. Given the lack of first hand evidence for the social history of the region, especially of its non-Greek populations, this examination reveals the important position articles of dress occupied in conveying social roles and status in Western Anatolia. Through an analysis of the 'language of dress' this dissertation reaches two conclusions. First, there existed a distinctive 'Anatolian' dress fashion shared among the various ethnic groups of Anatolia during the time in question. Second, the Western Anatolian elite adjusted borrowed dress fashions from the Persian court in order to show their status claims within the local socio-historical circumstances. |
