Hohenstein's Clothing Physiology Dept investigates Stone Age clothing

05 Dec '06

2 min read

Researchers from the department of Clothing Physiology at the Hohenstein Institutes in Bönnigheim are currently looking into these questions as part of the Südwestrundfunk´s (German broadcast station) “living science – the Stone Age” project.

In September/October 2006, two groups of volunteers crossed the Alps on the route used by Oetzi's contemporaries around 5,300 years ago.

The first group had access to the latest in functional textiles, trekking shoes etc., whereas the second group only had reconstructions of Neolithic equipment like that found on the iceman on the Tisenjoch in the Oetztal Alps.

The sub-jective impression gained by the test subjects in both groups relating to the thermal insulation, breathability, water impermeability and windproofness provided by their clothing is now being compared to the objective evaluation by scientists at Hohenstein.

For the objective evaluation of the wear comfort, Prof. Karl-Heinz Umbach's team employ standard test methods using the Hohenstein skin model and “Charlie”, the thermal mannequin.

These thermoregulation models are not only used to objectively determine the wear comfort of clothing by measuring the thermal insulation and wickability of the textile material.

Based on the measured values determined, it is also possible to make reliable predictions about the temperature range for which the articles of clothing and clothing combinations, as well as sleeping bags and bedding, are suitable.

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