Spindle whorl

Spinning with a whorl (c) on a spindle (b) and distaff (a) (above)

A spindle whorl is a weighted object fitted to a spindle to help maintain the spindle's speed of rotation while spinning yarn. It typically takes the form of a disk or spherical object, sometimes whorled, normally positioned on the bottom of the spindle. The spinner spins the resulting weighted spindle up to speed, which the whorl maintains, and then slowly pulls the fabric off a mass of fibers which the spindle then twists into yarn.

Historically, whorls have been made of materials like amber, antler, bone, ceramic, coral, glass, stone, metal (iron, lead, lead alloy), and wood (oak). Local sourced materials have been also used, such as chalk, limestone, mudstone, sandstone, slate, lydite and soapstone.

Remains of spindle whorls found in a Natufian village at Nahal Ein Gev II archeological site, Israel, from 12000 years ago, might be the oldest ones found to date.[1][2]

  1. ^ Yashuv, Talia; Grosman, Leore (2024-11-13). "12,000-year-old spindle whorls and the innovation of wheeled rotational technologies". PLOS ONE. 19 (11): e0312007. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0312007. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 11559986. PMID 39536041.
  2. ^ Lesté-Lasserre, Christa (2024-11-13). "12,000-year-old stones may be oldest example of wheel-like tools". New Scientist. Retrieved 2024-11-16.