Central Asian Clothing
The Svyatoslav Family (Kiev, ca. 1000 AD)
(continued from page two)
At the other end of Central Asia, Russian people, who were mostly farmers and not herdsmen in the Middle Ages, dressed more like their Byzantine neighbors to the south than like the Mongols.
Most women in Russia wore long woven wool tunics with long loose sleeves and belts at the waist. They covered their heads with veils like Islamic and European women. Men also wore tunics belted at the waist, but knee length and with tighter sleeves. Over their tunics, people wore wool cloaks to keep warm. But the men also wore caps, just like Mongol men further east and like the earlier Scythians.
Kids - as you can see in the picture - dressed like small adults, so the little boy has on a knee-length tunic and a small cap with ear-flaps like his father.
First page on Central Asian clothing
West Asian clothing
Chinese clothing
Indian clothing
To find out more about Central Asian clothing, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
Tales
Told in Tents: Stories from Central Asia
by Sally Pomme Clayton (2000). For kids.
Empire Of The Mongolians, by Michael Burgan (2005). Young adult.
