Berber carpet Berber carpet Berber carpets are carpets hand-woven by the Berber autochthones in North Africa and the Sahara. The carpets come in traditional and modern designs, which are distinguished by different knotting patterns, dyes and fabric textures. The origin carpet weaving by the Berber populations dates back several millennia. The hand spun cloth they created was named for the individual tribe, and they used natural fibers to create cloaks, rugs, and other fabrics. Modern industrialized Berber carpets are distinguished by a loop pile construction type that gives a similar appearance to the distinct knot of traditionally woven Berber carpets. The modern
Names of the Berber people as Numidians and later as Mauri in classical antiquity. These are umbrella terms that would include populations whose self-designation was a variety of tribal names, although Strabo asserts that "Mauri" was also used indigenously. The "Libu" of ancient Egyptian sources, eponymous of the name "Libya" may also have been an early Berber or Proto-Berber population. The term "Berber" is a variation of the Greek original word "barbaros" ("barbarian"), earlier in history applied by Romans specifically to their northern hostile neighbors from Germania (modern Germany) and Celts, Iberians, Gauls, Goths and Thracians. The variation is a French one when spelled "Berbère"