The technical study and handling of textiles should be a separate line of research parallel to, but distinct from, the study of design. With the aid of 20X magnification the analyst can gather information from the fiber as to its possible geographic location; from the spinning as to whether the fiber was spun according to its inherent nature and therefore in its native orbit; and from weaving as to whether the yarns are being woven in a way usual for some given time and place. Because the individual fibers are not changed in making the fabric, they may retain some evidence of their origin. All vegetable fibers rotate while drying, some in the S direction and some in the Z direction. The common spinning in Egypt is S, the preference for flax, in India Z where the fiber was cotton. After a spinning craft was established in a given region all fibers spun by craftsmen in that region were apt to be spun the same way, the tradition passing from one generation to the next. There are many examples from the textiles, embroideries and tiraz (inscriptions worked into a textile) of the Near East and Egypt, which illustrate the interdependence of technical and historical studies. -- AATA