Janet Stephens
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Female_portrait_Louvre_Ma3452.jpg/220px-Female_portrait_Louvre_Ma3452.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Roman_Woman_statue_detail_Istanbul_Archaeological_Museum_-_inv._2269_T.jpg/220px-Roman_Woman_statue_detail_Istanbul_Archaeological_Museum_-_inv._2269_T.jpg)
Janet Stephens (née Scott) is a hairstyle archaeologist[1] who studies historical hairstyles, aiming to prove that they were not done with wigs, as commonly believed, but with the person's own hair.[2][3]
Early life[]
Her maiden name is Janet Scott, and she grew up in Kennewick, Washington.[4]
Reconstruction[]
She first became interested in this work in 2001, when she visited the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and saw some statue busts from the Greek and Roman collections.[5][6] Stephens said,
I had never seen the back of a Roman statue before—they are usually placed high on shelves/pedestal[s] with the backs tight up against a wall. As I circled the portraits I saw the logic of the hairstyles and determined to try some at home.[5]
But she found that scholars mainly believed that the hairstyles were wigs.[2] Believing otherwise, Stephens set out to do her own research.[2] In 2005, while studying translations of Roman literature, she realized the Latin term acus, which has several meanings including a "single-prong hairpin" or "needle and thread," was being mistranslated as "single-prong hairpin" in the context of ancient Roman hairdressing.[2] While single-prong hairpins could not have held up the elaborate hairstyles of ancient Rome, a needle and thread could.[2]
In 2008 she published this theory as "Ancient Roman Hairdressing: On (hair) pins and needles" in the Journal of Roman Archaeology, Vol. 21.[7][2] In 2012 her video Julia Domna: Forensic Hairdressing was presented at the Archaeological Institute of America’s annual meeting in Philadelphia.[8] In 2013 she became the first to recreate the hairstyle of the Roman vestal virgins on a modern person.[9][2][10]
Hairdressing[]
Stephens continues to work as a hairdresser at Baltimore's Studio 921 Salon and Day Spa.[11]
References[]
- ^ Eveleth, Rose. "This Woman Is a Hair-Style Archaeologist". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g Pesta, Abigail (2013-02-06). "On Pins and Needles: Stylist Turns Ancient Hairdo Debate on Its Head - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
- ^ "'Hairdo archaeologist' solves old mystery". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
- ^ Schilling, Sara. "Kennewick native featured in front-page Wall Street Journal Story on ancient hairstyles | Local News". Tri-CityHerald.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
- ^ a b "Blog Archive » Janet Stephens: Intrepid Hairdressing Archaeologist". The History Blog. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
- ^ ""Hairdressing Archaeologist" Re-Writes History". Modernsalon.com. 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
- ^ "Studio 921 Salon & Day Spa". Studio921spa.com. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
- ^ "Blog Archive » Janet Stephens: Intrepid Hairdressing Archaeologist". The History Blog. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ "Roman vestal virgin hairstyle re-created - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience". NBC News. 2013-01-09. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
- ^ Carusillo, Claire. "Janet Stephens - New York Magazine". NYMag. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
- ^ Schilling, Sara. "Kennewick native featured in front-page Wall Street Journal Story on ancient hairstyles | Local News". Tri-CityHerald.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
External links[]
- Living people
- 21st-century American archaeologists
- American hairdressers
- Roman archaeology
- American women archaeologists
- 21st-century American women writers
- People from Kennewick, Washington
- People from Baltimore
- Historians from Washington (state)
- Historians from Maryland