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Tools and Equipment

Spindle Whorl

Spinning and Weaving Tools

A spindle whorl is a weighted disk or spherical object fitted to the bottom of a spindle to help maintain its speed of rotation while spinning fiber into yarn. The spinner spins the weighted spindle, drawing off a mass of fiber that twists into thread.

Facts
Introduced When (Circa)
The oldest known spindle whorls, perforated stone pebbles from the Natufian site of Nahal Ein Gev II in Israel, are about 12,000 years old. 1
Origin
Spindle whorls have historically been made from amber, antler, bone, ceramic, coral, glass, metal and wood, as well as locally available stone such as chalk, limestone, sandstone and slate. 1
Sources
1. Spindle Whorl (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • History section, sentence 3
    Archaeologists say the perforated pebbles found scattered at the village site are 12,000 years old.
  • History section, sentence 2
    Historically, whorls have been made of materials like amber, antler, bone, ceramic, coral, glass, stone, metal (iron, lead, lead alloy), and wood (oak).
  • Lead paragraph, sentence 1
    A spindle whorl is a weighted object fitted to a spindle to help maintain the spindle's speed of rotation while spinning yarn.
  • In Group: Spindles and Spinning Wheels, Lead section
    A spindle whorl is a weighted object fitted to a spindle to help maintain the spindle's speed of rotation while spinning yarn.
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