Spinning methods. (a) Manual thigh spinning [64]; (b) Spindle and Spiral “Supported Spinning”. [68]; (c) “drop spinning” [66]; (d) the experimental spindles and vertices, the 3D scans of the pebbles and their negative perforations. The bottom image shows Yonit Kristal experimenting with spinning fibers with perforated pebble replicas, using supported spinning and drop spinning techniques. Credit: Yashuv, Grosman, 2024, MORE ONECC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
A collection of drilled pebbles from an archaeological site in Israel may be spindle whorls, which represent a key stage in the development of rotary tools including wheels, according to a study published on November 13, 2024 in the journal Access open MORE ONE by Talia Yashuv and Leore Grosman from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Donut-shaped objects connected to a bar, which form a wheel and axle, are a key invention that made a trampoline. technological development and are commonly associated with Bronze Age chariots. Spindle coils, the round, weighted objects that are attached to a spindle rod, form a wheel-and-axle-like device to help the spindle spin faster and longer, allowing it to efficiently gather fibers like It’s wool or linen and yarn. in yarn
The stones studied in the new paper, recovered from the Nahal-Ein Gev II excavation site in northern Israel, date back to about 12,000 years ago, during the important transition to an agricultural lifestyle and the much earlier Neolithic period of bronze age cart wheels. .
Introducing an innovative method to study perforated objects, based on digital 3D models of the stones and their negative holes, the authors describe more than a hundred pebbles mainly calcareous, which present a circular shape pierced by a central hole .
Due to this structure and composition, the authors of the new paper deduce that the stones were probably used as spindle whorls – a hypothesis also supported by the successful spinning of flax with replicas of the stones.
This collection of shaft the vertices represent an early example of humans using rotation with a wheel-shaped tool. They may have paved the way for later rotary technologies such as the pot wheel and cart wheelwhich were vital for the development of the first human civilizations.
The authors added: “The most important aspect of the study is how modern technology it allows us to touch the fingerprints of prehistoric crafts, then learn something new about them and their innovation, and at the same time, about our modern technology and how we are related.”
More information:
12,000-year-old spindle whorls and the innovation of wheel-turning technologies, MORE ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312007
Provided by
Public Library of Science
Citation: 12,000-year-old stones may be very early evidence of wheel technology (2024, November 13) retrieved November 13, 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-11-year-stones-early -evidence-wheel .html
This document is subject to copyright. Except for any fair business for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.