A weighted shaft that spins in the air while it hangs from the thread being made, twisting loose fiber into yarn entirely by hand, with no wheel and no motor. It is the direct ancestor of the spinning wheel and older than it by many thousands of years, and it is still how many spinners first learn the craft. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Introduced When (Circa)Circa 12,000 years ago, on the evidence of possible spindle whorls at the Nahal Ein Gev II site in Israel 1 The site belongs to the Natufian culture; the whorls are described as possible rather than certain evidence of spinning. OriginThe Nahal Ein Gev II site has produced the earliest possible evidence of spindle whorls, roughly 12,000 years old, well before the spinning wheel's own thirteenth century attestation. 1 Connections
Associated With
The spindle is the spinning wheel's own direct ancestor, and remains in use beside it.
Sources
1. Spindle (Textiles) (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHand spindles section
Drop Spindles are a popular type of suspended spindle
- History and Origins section
In Group: Spindles and Spinning Wheels, Lead section
A spindle is a straight spike, usually made from wood, used for spinning, twisting fibers such as wool, flax, hemp, and cotton into yarn.
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