The Artisan and the Tool (original) (raw)
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Ibarra et al 2018 - The Artisan and the Tool
The Artisan and the Tool, 2018
This work analyses the technological–functional performance of 283 archaeological spindle whorls from the site of Tepeticpac, Tlaxcala, Mexico, a Late Postclassic (AD 1250/1300–1519) state-level political entity from highland Mesoamerica. We evaluate spindle whorl morphology and their performance associated with different fibre processing and thread quality production. Statistical analysis, in conjunction with an experimental study, supports the existence of two large groups of archaeological whorls, which can be correlated with two spinning techniques. Also, we found an association between thread quality and artisan’s skill. The methodology developed here is applicable and comparable to samples from Mesoamerican and worldwide archaeological sites.
Spinning and Weaving Tools from Santa Isabel, Nicaragua
Ancient Mesoamerica, 2008
Costume is one of the most significant forms of material culture in ethnographic contexts, yet remains of cloth are extremely rare at most archaeological sites. Artifacts that typically relate to textile production include spindle whorls and bone tools. This paper summarizes results of analyses of a large corpus of whorls and a remarkably extensive assemblage of bone tools from the Early Postclassic site of Santa Isabel in Pacific Nicaragua. Ethnohistoric sources identify several Mesoamerican groups as living in the region during the Postclassic period, with the Oto-Manguean-speaking Chorotega likely candidates for the cultural group at Santa Isabel. Textiles were probably made from cotton, among other plant fibers. In addition to cloth production, we consider the importance of spinning thread for fishnets and hammocks.
Thread Production in Early Postclassic Coastal Oaxaca, Mexico: Technology, Intensity, and Gender
Excavations at the site of Río Viejo in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico, yielded evidence of intensive cotton thread production during the Early Postclassic (a.d. 975-1220). Spindle whorls were recovered in relatively large quantities in and around houses at Río Viejo, indicating that thread production was interspersed with other household activities and residents likely produced enough thread for local use and for export. Measurements of coastal spindle whorls show that the Río Viejo thread was unique compared to other coastal and highland sites in Oaxaca and Mesoamerica beyond. I argue that this uniqueness may in part stem from the particular variety of cotton that they were spinning, but also might reflect an interregional demand for their thread. The whorl data are presented in multiple ways to compare to other sites where intensive thread production has been proposed. Here, I discuss the problems inherent in whorl calculations and make a call for more standardized recording, ideally with volumetric density measures. In the final section of the paper, I use mortuary data and other lines of evidence to re-evaluate the ethnohistorically-documented relationship between women and textile production. In coastal Oaxaca, the evidence suggests that thread production was not linked to specific gender identities in a way that is marked archaeologically. Instead, adult members of households in coastal Oaxaca materially emphasized a shared group identity over any specific gender-based identities. The production of thread was a broadly shared household-level practice that involved multiple producers, which both created and reinforced social bonds between residents and provided Early Postclassic residents with secure and comfortable access to highland goods, paving the way for the more developed thread production industry in the Late Postclassic period.
Spindle Whorls from El Purgatorio, Peru, and Their Socioeconomic Implications
Latin American Antiquity, 2016
In the Andean region, spindle whorls have been the subject of archaeological analysis less often than other artifact classes, such as pottery. Nevertheless, spindle whorls may have much more to contribute to archaeological interpretations of production, status, and exchange patterns than previously acknowledged. The case study presented here examines the spindle whorl collection from the site of El Purgatorio, Peru, the capital city of the Casma polity (ca. A.D. 700–1400). Spindle whorls were not only expertly crafted utilitarian tools for spinning yarn, but also items of personal adornment, symbols of wealth or status, and possible indicators of intra-polity exchange patterns. The analysis of spindle whorls in regard to form and function provides insight into Casma social and economic organization. The spindle whorls discovered at El Purgatorio also reflect varying degrees of standardization and technical knowledge, suggesting that at least some may have been manufactured by specia...
2008 Spinning and Weaving Tools from Santa Isabel, Nicaragua
Ancient Mesoamerica, 2008
"ABSTRACT Costume is one of the most significant forms of material culture in ethnographic contexts, yet remains of cloth are extremely rare at most archaeological sites. Artifacts that typically relate to textile production include spindle whorls and bone tools. This paper summarizes results of analyses of a large corpus of whorls and a remarkably extensive assemblage of bone tools from the Early Postclassic site of Santa Isabel in Pacific Nicaragua. Ethnohistoric sources identify several Mesoamerican groups as living in the region during the Postclassic period, with the Oto-Manguean-speaking Chorotega likely candidates for the cultural group at Santa Isabel. Textiles were probably made from cotton and yucca, among other plant fibers. In addition to cloth production we also consider the importance of spinning thread for fish-nets and hammocks. RESUMEN La vestimenta es uno de las formas más importantes de cultura material en contextos etnográficos, sin embargo debido a su limitada preservación restos arqueológicos de tela son escasos en la mayoría de sitios explorados. De manera recurrente, los artefactos asociados a la producción textil registrados en contextos arqueológicos incluyen malacates para hilar y herramientas de hueso tallado. Este artículo presenta los resultados del análisis de material en una muestra de malacates y herramientas de hueso del periodo Postclásico Temprano del sitio Santa Isabel en Nicaragua. Fuentes etno-históricas identifican varios grupos culturales mesoamericanos en la región durante este periodo. El grupo lingüístico Oto-Mangue, llamados también Chorotega, es probablemente el grupo cultural que habito el sitio de Santa Isabel, Nicaragua. Los textiles probablemente fueron hechos de algodón y yuca, entre otras fibras vegetales. Además de la producción textil para vestimenta, consideramos la posibilidad de la fabricación de hamacas y redes para pescar."
Functional analysis of spindle whorls from the Castro culture of northwestern Portugal
2015
This thesis aims to see if there is a connection between the functional characteristics of spindle whorls, namely shape, weight, height, and diameter, and the types of fibers the people of the Castro Culture, an Iron Age archaeological culture located in Northwestern Iberia, may have spun into yarn for use in textile production. This study focuses on a collection of 106 spindle whorls from four sites in Northwestern Portugal: Cividade de Bagunte, Cividade de Terroso, Castro do Monte Padrão, and Castro de São Paio. Through analysis of the functional characteristics of each artifact, I show that it is unlikely that shape, height, and diameter played a limiting role in the types of fiber that were spun with a drop spindle by the people of the Castro Culture, but that different types of whorls may have been used with different fibers based on personal or cultural preferences. Weight, however, does seem to play a determining factor in the types of fibers that were spun because of the limits of the fibers themselves to spin quality yarns outside of set weight ranges. The existence of no whorls with weights greater than 27 grams in this assemblage suggests that they were mainly spinning short, fine wool and, to a lesser extent, long staple medium-heavy wool. There is also no evidence that they were spinning full-length flax, since no whorls in the ideal weight range of 100-150 grams were found. vi
Note: This paper was originally published in the January 2014 EXARC Journal (http://journal.exarc.net/issue-2014-1). An abridged version was printed in the 2014 EXARC Digest. Abstract This paper takes the form of a critical analysis of archaeological experiments using spinning tools. The archaeological experiments regarding whorl weight and wool spinning of the Tools and Textiles – Texts and Contexts project, through the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre for Textile Research, are examined with respect to a number of variables. These variables include the experience of the technicians, the details of the reconstructed spindles, and technical aspects of preparation and spinning methods. The variables and their implications are insufficiently addressed in the technical reports of the experiments, and further consideration and elucidation would enhance the interpretation of experimental results. Archaeological experimentation of this type would also benefit from the incorporation of ethnographic observation to provide contextual information and comparative behavioral data. The assumptions inherent in modern approaches to fibre technology and their influence on archaeological experimentation are considered, with a view toward encouraging a more self-conscious approach to the analysis of fibre experiments.
Prehispanic textile production in highland Bolivia. Instruments for spinning and weaving processes
Textiles, Technical Practice, and Power in the Andes. Denise Y. Arnold and Penny Dransart Eds. Archetype Publications in association with the British Museum, London. , 2014
I present here a diachronic analysis of prehispanic tools for textile production. Taking into account the textile operative chain, instruments were clustered according to the different steps in the chain, from procurement of raw materials, to spinning, weaving, and finishing. The instruments were also analysed considering their chronological period, and compared to show changes as well as continuities through time. These new kinds of analyses allow us to draw inferences about textile practices at different moments, and their association with major socioeconomic changes.
The economic importance of fibre crafts in prehistoric communities is manifested by the spindle whorls which usually appear in abundance during the excavation of settlements. Ropes, cords and yarn for weaving can be manufactured from plant or animal fibres, with various techniques, 1 one of which requires the implementation of the spindle. 2 The spindle does not survive in the archaeological record since it is usually made of wood, a perishable material. 3 Spindle whorls, however, are traditionally and cross-culturally made of clay, stone or bone, 4 and have much better chances of good archeological preservation. For this reason they constitute one of the most critical categories of archaeological data for the study of prehistoric yarn production. They are technological, economic and cultural markers of a craft which is otherwise archaeologically invisible.