DRESS AND IDENTITY IN THE ARTS OF WESTERN ANATOLIA: THE SEVENTH THROUGH FOURTH CENTURIES BCE

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.