Along with housing, clothing arose as one of the main means of protection from various external influences. Some bourgeois scientists recognize this utilitarian reason for the origin of clothing, but many take idealistic positions and put forward as the main reasons a feeling of shame, aesthetic motivation (clothing supposedly arose from jewelry), religious and magic shows, etc.

Cloth- one of the oldest inventions of man. Already in the monuments of the late Paleolithic, stone scrapers and bone needles were discovered, which were used for processing and stitching skins. The materials for clothing, in addition to skins, were leaves, grass, and tree bark (for example, Tapa among the inhabitants of Oceania). Hunters and fishermen used fish skins, sea lion intestines and other sea animals, and bird skins.

Having learned the art of spinning and weaving in the Neolithic era, man initially used fibers from wild plants. The transition to cattle breeding and agriculture that took place in the Neolithic made it possible to use the hair of domestic animals and fibers of cultivated plants (flax, hemp, cotton) for the manufacture of fabrics.

Embroidered clothing was preceded by its prototypes: a primitive cloak (skin) and a loin cover. Various types of shoulder clothing originate from the cloak; subsequently, a toga, tunic, poncho, burka, shirt, etc. arose from it. Belt clothing (apron, skirt, trousers) evolved from the hip cover.

The simplest ancient shoes- sandals or a piece of animal skin wrapped around the foot. The latter is considered the prototype of the leather morshni (pistons) of the Slavs, the chuvyak of the Caucasian peoples, and the moccasins of the American Indians. Tree bark (in Eastern Europe) and wood (shoes among some peoples of Western Europe) were also used for shoes.

Headdresses, protecting the head, already in ancient times played the role of a sign indicating social status (headdresses of a leader, priest, etc.), and were associated with religious and magical ideas (for example, they depicted the head of an animal).

Clothing is usually adapted to the conditions of the geographical environment. In different climatic zones it differs in shape and material. The oldest clothing of the peoples of the tropical forest zone (in Africa, South America, etc.) is a loincloth, an apron, and a blanket on the shoulders. In moderately cold and arctic regions, clothing covers the entire body. The northern type of clothing is divided into moderate northern and clothing of the Far North (the latter is entirely fur).

The peoples of Siberia are characterized by two types of fur clothing: in the subpolar zone - blind, that is, without a cut, worn over the head (among the Eskimos, Chukchi, Nenets, etc.), in the taiga zone - swinging, having a cut in the front (among the Evenks, Yakuts, etc.). A unique set of clothing made of suede or tanned leather developed among the Indians of the forest belt of North America: women had a long shirt, men had a shirt and high leggings.

Forms of clothing are closely related to human economic activities. Thus, in ancient times, peoples engaged in nomadic cattle breeding developed a special type of clothing convenient for riding - wide trousers and a robe for men and women.

As society developed, the influence of differences in social and marital status on clothing increased. The clothes of men and women, girls and married women; everyday, festive, wedding, funeral and other clothes arose. With the division of labor there appeared various types professional clothing. Already on early stages history, clothing reflected ethnic characteristics (tribal, clan), and later national ones (which did not exclude local variations).

While satisfying the utilitarian needs of society, clothing at the same time expresses its aesthetic ideals. The artistic specificity of clothing as a type of decorative and applied art and artistic design is determined mainly by the fact that the object of creativity is the person himself. Forming a visual whole with it, clothing cannot be represented outside of its function.

The property of clothing as a purely personal item determined in its creation (modelling) the consideration of the proportional features of the figure, the age of a person, as well as private details of his appearance (for example, hair color, eyes). In the process of artistic design of clothing, these features can be emphasized or, conversely, softened.

This direct connection between clothing and a person gave rise to active participation, even co-authorship of the consumer in the approval and development of its forms. Being one of the means of embodying the ideal of a person of a particular era, clothing is made in accordance with its leading artistic style and its particular manifestation - fashion.

The combination of clothing components and items that complement them, made in uniform style and artistically coordinated with each other, creates an ensemble called a costume. The main means of imagery in clothing is architectonics.

Numerous tribes that settled in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire (5th century) had a fundamentally different approach to clothing, which was not supposed to envelop the body, but reproduce its shape, giving a person the opportunity to move easily. Thus, among the peoples who came from the North and East, the main parts of clothing were coarsely woven trousers and a shirt. On their basis, such a type of clothing as tights developed, which occupied the main place in European costume for several centuries.

When answering the question " when did clothes appear"The opinions of scientists differ. According to the most cautious hypothesis, clothing appeared about 40 thousand years ago, which is confirmed by archaeological data, since the oldest found sewing needles date back to this time. According to the most daring hypotheses, the appearance of clothing could coincide with the loss human ancestors of the main part of the hair, which happened about 1.2 million years ago. There is also a hypothesis that the time of the appearance of the first clothes can be determined based on when body lice appeared, which live only on clothes. Genetics say that body lice. separated from head lice at least 83 thousand years ago, and perhaps even earlier than 170 thousand years ago. There are more bold estimates of the time of appearance of body lice - from 220 thousand to 1 million years ago.

Most likely, clothing arose not so much as protection from the cold (tribes are known who went without clothing, even living in a harsh climate, for example, the Indians of Tierra del Fuego), but as magical protection from outside threats. Amulets, tattoos, and painting on the naked body initially played the same role as clothing later, protecting the owner with magical power. Subsequently, the tattoo patterns were transferred to the fabric. For example, the multi-colored checkered tattoo pattern of the ancient Celts remained the national pattern of Scottish fabric.

The first materials for clothing primitive man there were plant fibers and skins. The methods of wearing skins as clothing varied. This includes wrapping it around the torso and attaching it to the belt, which provides good cover for the pelvis and legs; putting it on the shoulders through the slot for the head (the future amice), throwing it on the back and tying the paws around the neck to create a warm cape in the form of a cloak. How more people complicated his clothes, the more various fasteners and additions appeared on them. These are claws, bones, bird feathers, animal fangs.

Clothing of the ancient Germans of the Stone Age:

At the Paleolithic site of Sungir (territory Vladimir region), the estimated age of which is 25 thousand years, in 1955 the burials of teenagers were found: a boy 12-14 years old and a girl 9-10 years old. The teenagers' clothes were trimmed with mammoth bone beads (up to 10 thousand pieces), which made it possible to reconstruct their clothes (which turned out to be similar to the costume of modern northern peoples). A reconstruction of clothing from the Sungir site can be seen in the following figure:

In 1991, the ice mummy of the primitive man “Ötzi”, who lived 3300 BC, was found in the Alps. Ötzi's clothes were partially preserved and were reconstructed (see picture).

Ötzi's clothing was quite elaborate. He wore a woven straw cloak, as well as a leather vest, belt, leggings, loincloth and boots. In addition, a bearskin hat with leather belt through the chin. The wide, waterproof boots were apparently designed for walking in the snow. They used bearskin for the soles, deerskin for the uppers, and bast for lacing. Soft grass was tied around the leg and used as warm socks. The vest, belt, windings and loincloth were made from strips of leather sewn together with sinew. Sewn to the belt was a pouch containing useful things: scraper, drill, flint, bone arrow and dry mushroom used as tinder.
In addition, about 57 tattoos of dots, lines and crosses were found on Ötzi's body.

In 1991, paleontologists in the Alps found an ice mummy. These were the remains of a primitive man, who was given the name “Ötzi.” Ötzi lived 5300 years ago. Ötzi's clothes have been preserved in good condition. Ötzi's clothes were intricately shaped. His body was covered with a cloak woven from straw, as well as a leather vest and belt; there was a bandage on his hips and boots. A bearskin hat and a leather belt across the chin were discovered next to the mummy. Wide, waterproof boots were most likely needed for walking over snowy hills. The sole was made from bearskin, upper part woven from deerskin, and bast was used as laces. Soft grass was tied around the legs and served as socks. The vest, belt, windings and loincloth were made from strips of leather that were sewn together with sinew. On the belt there was a pouch in which useful things were stored: a scraper, a drill, a flint, bone arrows and dry mushrooms used as tinder.

The answer to this question is known to everyone: of course, in the skins! As soon as you say the words “primitive man,” a picture appears in your imagination, either from a textbook or from a popular book: a hefty fellow, whose torso is carelessly wrapped in skin. There is another option: sexy beauties from the film “One Million Years BC”, sporting bikinis made of skins.

As a rule, our knowledge about the wardrobe of primitive man is limited to this. And no wonder. No clothes from those distant times have reached us anyway. Who knows how they dressed there, in the Stone Age?

It turns out that scientists managed to figure this out.

Not far from Vladimir there is a famous site of primitive man from the Upper Paleolithic era. Based on the name of the river, not far from which it was found, the site is called Sungir. It was discovered in the 50s of the last century, its age is more than 50 thousand years. Two burials were found there. In one there rested a man of about 50 years old, in the other a boy and a girl aged 13 and 10 years old. The clothes of these people, of course, were not preserved. However, a huge number of bone beads, pendants, and various gizmos have come down to us, which scientists interpret as hairpins and fasteners. Based on the order in which they lay on the remains of people, archaeologists were able to reconstruct the clothes of the deceased.

So, the ancient Sungir people were dressed almost exactly as the peoples of the far north dress to this day. This is not surprising, the era of glaciation, after all.

All three were wearing clothes called “kukhlyanka” or “malitsa” (different northern peoples have different names) - a thick jacket with a hood. These jackets provide excellent protection from the cold. Modern Evenks and Chukchi, just like our ancestors from Sungir, richly decorate their kukhlyankas, including by sewing beads on them.

In addition to kuhlyankas, in the Upper Paleolithic era, fur pants and shoes were in fashion, which can be interpreted as the closest relative of moccasins. At the same time, the shoes were also richly decorated with beads.

On the heads of the men were either hats or leather forehead protectors decorated with animal fangs. But the girl was given a headdress, which we would now call a bonnet or cap. Something like a hood, also trimmed with beads and pendants. Such fur caps are still worn by residents of the polar regions.

So the wardrobe of primitive man was not so poor. Moreover, we still use the developments of ancient fashion designers. Moccasins, Alaskan jackets, hoods – who would be surprised by this now? The only thing is that the way of making and selling clothes and shoes has changed radically. Needless to say, today you can even order online quality clothes and shoes. Some sites even offer clothing designers for custom tailoring.

The ideas of the ancients about female beauty are clearly shown by the found female sculptural images. They have a massive, muscular body, big belly and breasts, which was important for childbirth, and therefore beautiful. However, Paleolithic female figurines were also found, devoid of massiveness and other similar features, which does not exclude other attributes female beauty, other aesthetic meaning.

Clothing as a means of protection appeared in man when climatic conditions associated with glaciation forced him to escape the cold. At first, back in ancient times, in order to protect against bad weather and insect bites, people coated their bodies with clay, damp earth, and fat.

The need to shelter from bad weather and protect from the forces of nature, the causes of which man did not know, forced him to resort to animal skins, which he threw over his shoulders. This is how something between a blanket and clothing appeared, which can roughly be called a “bedspread.” Man learned to make waterproof capes from fish intestines, and loincloths from herbs and bird feathers.

Already at the first stage, man tried to give shapeless materials - skins, fibers; feathers - the necessary shape. Primitive man dressed in a skin - a blanket, held on his shoulders and which served as the prototype of modern shoulder clothing- a cloak, tunic, cape, and also wore a loincloth made of plant fibers and feathers - a prototype of modern belt clothing - trousers, skirts, aprons and pants.

Already in the Stone Age, man discovered the fibrous structure of some plants and animal hair, and in the Neolithic era he learned to spin, weave and knit. The first fabrics were coarse, matting-type materials woven from plant fibers. The basis for the production of matting is, as is known from historical sources, the skill of weaving baskets; People have mastered this art since ancient times.

Finds of bone needles from the late Neolithic suggest that clothing at that time was mainly sewn animal skins. It was during the Neolithic era that man learned to spin and weave, and the initial elements of textile production arose.

The first mention of textile production, according to archaeologists, dates back to the 7th millennium BC. e. Even now, remains of textiles of various weaves from that period have been preserved.

Initially, people used the fibers of wild plants to create threads and fabrics, and when they took up farming and cattle breeding during the transition to a sedentary lifestyle, they were able to make fabrics from the fibers of cultivated plants (flax, hemp, cotton) and the hair of domestic animals.

Culture developed at the fastest pace in Western Asia, Egypt and India, where the cultivation of plants began very early on the basis of gathering, even in the Mesolithic. The beginning of livestock breeding also dates back to this time.

It has been here since the 6th-5th millennium BC. People began to use wool from sheep, goats, and flax stalks to make clothes. In India it's already the end of the 3rd. Cotton has been cultivated and made into clothing for thousands of years.

In the East, in China, around the middle of the 3rd millennium, that is, towards the end of the Neolithic era, a way to unwind a silk cocoon was found, and silk clothing appeared. The Chinese also made clothes from cotton fabrics that came to them from India. And in the 2nd millennium, China had already established the cultivation of cotton and the production of clothing from it.

The development of Neolithic cultures in Europe proceeded on a local basis, but under the strong influence of the cultures of the Near East, from where they entered Europe already in the 4th-3rd millennium BC. the most important cultivated plants penetrated. Linen fabrics have been found in Neolithic excavations in Switzerland.

On the territory of Eastern Europe, even in the Mesolithic era, great changes took place in the economy of primitive society. Along with hunting and fishing, the population began to master agriculture and cattle breeding, process fibrous plants and produce twisted ropes, woven nets and fabrics.

Ancient ritual songs and finds of linen products in burial grounds confirm the fact that linen was well known to the Eastern Slavs long before the formation of Kievan Rus.

Around the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. In the treeless plateaus of South America, the ancient Peruvians - the Incas - tamed and began to breed llamas and alpacas, whose wool was spun and the resulting threads were used to make fabrics and knitted clothing.

By the end of the Stone Age, man already had a whole wardrobe of various clothes, which he knew how to make both from animal skins and from a variety of fabrics, having learned to spin, weave and knit. Now he could throw not only skins, but also rectangular pieces of fabric over his shoulders or hips, tie them or wrap them around the body horizontally, diagonally or in a spiral.

Depending on the materials used and the geographic region, clothing was attached to the figure in different ways: wrapped around the body or draped around the body. Draped clothing enveloped the body and was held in place with ties, belts, and fasteners.

Man learned to sew not only skins, but also pieces of fabric, bending them in half and leaving the holes for the arms unsewn, and cutting a hole in the middle for the head. By cutting the front in the middle, he got a swing-out garment.