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Spinning through Time: An Analysis of Pottery Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze I Spindle Whorl Assemblages from the Southern Levant

Abstract Details

2018, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Anthropology.
Spindle whorls, which are used for the production of thread, are one of the only artifacts related to the textile industry which survives in the archaeological record. At the crossroads of Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, the southern Levant is at the intersection of cultural and technological change, particularly throughout the chronological scope of my study: the Pottery Neolithic (PN), Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze I (EBI) periods. This study, conducted as research for my master’s thesis, is the first comprehensive diachronic study of spindle whorls on the prehistoric southern Levant. I collected data from published sources to create a database of whorls. From this compiled diachronic dataset, I noticed specific trends in the data, most notably, a shift with primarily ceramic whorls in PN assemblages to a majority of EBI whorls made of stone. Evaluating the observed trends in spindle whorls, along with identifying the materials and potential processes individuals were using to spin thread, I propose there was a shift from primarily wool spinning in the earlier periods to primarily linen spinning by the EBI.
Alan Sullivan, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Susan Allen, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
84 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Heidkamp, B. (2018). Spinning through Time: An Analysis of Pottery Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze I Spindle Whorl Assemblages from the Southern Levant [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1535374272535722

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Heidkamp, Blair. Spinning through Time: An Analysis of Pottery Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze I Spindle Whorl Assemblages from the Southern Levant. 2018. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1535374272535722.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Heidkamp, Blair. "Spinning through Time: An Analysis of Pottery Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze I Spindle Whorl Assemblages from the Southern Levant." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1535374272535722

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)