Spiders are fascinating creatures whose products, the web and its silks, are commonly viewed in awe. Thus, silks material properties, together with the interest in the arachnids that spin them, play an important role in the development of many cultures and scientific disciplines. In the scientific community, one example of such a development can be found in the recent formalisation of biomimetics. This work aims to analyse the beginnings of our knowledge on silk and discuss concepts related to spider silks and webs in ancient Greek and Roman societies. Furthermore, these concepts are compared to our current knowledge in the field. In this way, ancient texts, namely Greek and Latin, seem to be connected with modern disciplines that range from architecture to medicine. This connection will help in understanding how natural observation has evolved in time, but also in showing how an interdisciplinary research network has been spun by some shared conceptual threads.
MASTELLARI V, GRECO G (2021). Spider Silks and Webs in Ancient and Modern Knowledge: A Comparison
VIRGINIA MASTELLARI
2021-01-01
Abstract
Spiders are fascinating creatures whose products, the web and its silks, are commonly viewed in awe. Thus, silks material properties, together with the interest in the arachnids that spin them, play an important role in the development of many cultures and scientific disciplines. In the scientific community, one example of such a development can be found in the recent formalisation of biomimetics. This work aims to analyse the beginnings of our knowledge on silk and discuss concepts related to spider silks and webs in ancient Greek and Roman societies. Furthermore, these concepts are compared to our current knowledge in the field. In this way, ancient texts, namely Greek and Latin, seem to be connected with modern disciplines that range from architecture to medicine. This connection will help in understanding how natural observation has evolved in time, but also in showing how an interdisciplinary research network has been spun by some shared conceptual threads.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
