Eski Hitit Döneminden İmparatorluk Dönemi Sonuna Kadar Tasvirli Eserlerde Kadın Kıyafetleri

Abstract

Culture, encompasses all the values of thought and art possessed by every community that has gained its sovereignty and constitutes the identity of tradition. The Hittites, the first founder of a centralized state organization in Anatolia, that were able to successfully preserve the cultural and social network of relations with both local integrity and the complex artistic structure that emerged from the interaction with different ethnic groups. The most basic indicator of the Hittite understanding of art, which has different sub-branches within itself, is the culture of clothing. This culture, like other civilizations in historical periods, is a unique act of emulation. Given the depicted artifacts, clothing is not only a descriptive object but also a social iconic norm of the Hittites. Studies show that a newly established state has a clothing consciousness as a sign of its identity. The place and purpose of use of clothing within the Hittite social state understanding varies. The hierarchy of dress within the society is most clearly seen on Hittite women. Hittite women, who belonged to two social groups, free or enslaved, wore unique clothes that defined their political and social identities in the ceremonies and celebrations they were in charge of. In the early statehood period, although there were color differences in women's clothes, a common dress culture was tried to be established and social status distinction was not reflected in the language of art. As a result of the increase in women's political and priestly activity during the Imperial Period, fabrics and headdresses were added to the dress style to ennoble and emphasize their different features. In this thesis, it has been tried to evaluate the change in the dress culture of Hittite women and its impact on women's identity over time with a holistic perspective in the light of depictive artifacts and written documents.