Janet Stephens

Janet Stephens (née Scott) is a hairstyle archaeologist[1] who studied historical hairstyles, aiming to prove that they were not done with wigs, as commonly believed, but with the person's own hair.[2][3]

Portrait bust with Roman hairstyle (late 1st century BC)
Roman statue of a woman with elaborate hairstyle (Aphrodisias, 2nd century AD)

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]

gollark: You could open a thread - or post on mine - about that.
gollark: So, make the sickness mechanic more forgiving, you mean?
gollark: Also, it seems that the suggestions/requests trading hub feedback thread just became ***HOT*** because of the new discussion about acceptable `Wants: ` contents.
gollark: Then what?
gollark: Maybe something like "eggs can't die from sickness unless they've been sick for [6-24] hours".

References
  1. Eveleth, Rose. "This Woman Is a Hair-Style Archaeologist". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  2. 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.
  3. "'Hairdo archaeologist' solves old mystery". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  4. 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.
  5. "Blog Archive » Janet Stephens: Intrepid Hairdressing Archaeologist". The History Blog. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  6. ""Hairdressing Archaeologist" Re-Writes History". Modernsalon.com. 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  7. "Studio 921 Salon & Day Spa". Studio921spa.com. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  8. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/14729
  9. "Roman vestal virgin hairstyle re-created - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience". NBC News. 2013-01-09. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  10. Carusillo, Claire. "Janet Stephens - New York Magazine". NYMag. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  11. 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.
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