Spinning Through Time: an Analysis of Pottery Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze I Spindle Whorl Assemblages from the Southern Levant
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Spinning through Time: An Analysis of Pottery Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze I Spindle Whorl Assemblages from the Southern Levant A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology of the College of Arts and Sciences 2018 Blair Heidkamp B.A. The College of Wooster May 2015 Committee: Alan P. Sullivan, Chair Susan E. Allen Abstract 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, as well as personally analyzed the spindle whorl assemblages from the Chalcolithic site of Marj Rabba and the Early Bronze I site of Tel Yaqush 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. ii iii Acknowledgments I would first like to acknowledge the patience and guidance of my advisors, Dr. Alan P. Sullivan and Dr. Susan Allen. Their time, effort, and edits allowed for the completion of this thesis. I also have to thank the Taft Research Center for awarding me a Taft Graduate Enrichment Grant, allowing me to complete data collection for this thesis. Additionally, the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman and the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem allowed me to use their libraries for research. Dr. Yorke Rowan has helped guide my research in archaeology and first introduced me to spindle whorls through my internship with him studying ground stone at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research. Last, I thank Eric Hubbard for reading early drafts of this thesis and for continued help throughout the writing process. iv Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents v List of Figures vi List of Tables vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Examining the Existing Literature 3 Research Aims 3 Organization of Thesis 4 Chapter 2: The Archaeological Investigation of Prehistoric Textile Production 5 Archaeological Evidence of Spindle Whorls 5 Materials Used for Spindle Whorls 8 Fibers Used for Spinning 9 Experimental Archaeology: Spinning 13 Chronological Aspects of Prehistoric Spindle Whorl Assemblages 15 Pottery Neolithic (Late Neolithic) 23 Chalcolithic 24 Early Bronze Age I 24 Chapter 3: Analysis of Spindle Whorl Variability 26 Data Collection 26 Materials Used for Spindle Whorls 27 Analysis of the Complete Assemblage 27 Analysis of the Pottery Neolithic Assemblage 34 Analysis of the Chalcolithic Assemblage 37 Analysis of the Early Bronze Age I Assemblage 43 Chapter 4: Comparative Analysis 49 Comparing the PN, Chalcolithic, and EBI Analyses 49 Chapter 5: Summary and Conclusions 54 Diachronic Changes in Materials used for Spindle Whorls 54 Evaluating an Increase in Linen Production 56 Summary 57 Understanding Changes in Prehistoric Levantine Spindle Whorls 58 Future Research 58 Conclusion 59 References Cited 61 v List of Figures Figure 1.1 Satellite Imagery of the Southern Levant (Photo Courtesy of Google Maps) 2 Figure 2.1 Map of Pottery Neolithic Sites with Spindle Whorls 20 Figure 2.2 Map of Chalcolithic Sites with Spindle Whorls 21 Figure 2.3 Map of Early Bronze I Sites with Spindle Whorls 22 Figure 3.1 Frequency Distribution of Spindle Whorl Variables 29 Figure 3.2 Scatter Plots of Spindle Whorl Variables of the Complete Assemblage 33 Figure 3.3 Frequencies of Material Types from 18 PN Assemblages 34 Figure 3.4 Frequency Distributions of Diameter and Thickness Measurements for the PN Spindle Whorls 36 Figure 3.5 Scatter Plot of Diameter and Thickness for PN Period Spindle Whorls 37 Figure 3.6 Variation of Material Types for 20 Chalcolithic Period Spindle Whorl Assemblages 37 Figure 3.7 Frequency Distributions of Measurement Data of the Chalcolithic Assemblage 40 Figure 3.8 Scatter Plots of Variables from Chalcolithic Period Spindle Whorls 42 Figure 3.9 Distribution of Material Types of EBI Period Spindle Whorls 43 Figure 3.10 Frequency Distribution of Spindle Whorl Variables of the EBI Assemblage 45 Figure 3.11 Scatter Plots Comparing Spindle Whorl Variables of the EBI Assemblage 48 vi List of Tables Table 2.1 Chronology of Southern Levant (Sharon 2014) 16 Table 2.2 Pottery Neolithic Sites Examined for Spindle Whorls 17 Table 2.3 Chalcolithic Sites Examined for Spindle Whorls 18 Table 2.4 EBI Sites Examined for Spindle Whorls 19 Table 3.1 Proportions of Stone and Ceramic Whorls by Period 27 Table 3.2 Descriptive Statistics of Spindle Whorl Measurement Data 28 Table 3.3 Independent Samples T-Test of Complete Assemblage Parametric Variables 30 Table 3.4 Independent Samples Kruskal-Wallis Test of Complete Assemblage Non-Parametric Variables 31 Table 3.5 Pearson r and Spearman Rho Tests on the Complete Assemblage 33 Table 3.6 Frequencies of Stone and Ceramic Whorls from PN Period Sites 35 Table 3.7 Descriptive Statistics of the PN Spindle Whorls 35 Table 3.8 Frequencies and Percentages of Stone and Ceramic Whorls from Chalcolithic Period Sites 38 Table 3.9 Measurement Data Divided by Material for the Chalcolithic Assemblage 39 Table 3.10 Independent Samples T Test and Mann-Whitney U Test of Measurement Data from Chalcolithic Period 41 Table 3.11 Pearson R and Spearman Rho Correlations of Variables from Chalcolithic Period Spindle Whorls 42 Table 3.12 Frequencies and Percentages of Stone and Ceramic Whorls from EBI Period Sites 44 Table 3.13 Measurement Data Divided by Material for the EBI Assemblage 44 Table 3.14 Independent Samples T Test of Measurement Data of the EBI Assemblage 46 Table 3.15 Pearson R and Spearman Rho Correlations of Spindle Whorl Variables for the EBI Assemblages 47 Table 4.1 Comparison of Average Dimensional Data between Time Periods 49 Table 4.2 Kruskal-Wallis Test Between Stone and Ceramic Whorls Among All Time Periods 50 Table 4.3 Tukey HSD of the Complete Assemblage 51 Table 4.4 Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U Test of Stone Spindle Whorls 51 Table 4.5 Tukey HSD Test of Stone Spindle Whorls 52 Table 4.6 Kruskal-Wallis Test for Ceramic Spindle Whorls 52 Table 4.7 Tukey HSD Test for Ceramic Spindle Whorls 53 vii Chapter 1 Introduction Spindle whorls are one of the few artifact types pertaining to textile production that exist in the archaeological record. They are, therefore, immensely important in the interpretation of thread and textile production, particularly in prehistoric periods when fewer artifacts survive the millennia. Spindle whorls, a type of flywheel, are circular objects that are centrally perforated and attached to a straight stick called a spindle. The whorl and spindle combination is used to pull and twist fiber into threads. The whorl’s particular function is to increase the number of spins per maneuver by the human spinner. Archaeological investigations in the southern Levant, corresponding to the area of modern Israel, Jordan, and Palestine (Figure 1.1), have been ongoing for over a century. Textile production, however, has not been studied extensively largely due to the lack of evidence found in the archaeological record. Most elements of textile production, such as spindles, looms, and the textiles themselves are made of organic material that do not survive in the archaeological record. In contrast, spindle whorls made of ceramic and stone are often preserved in archaeological contexts. Spindle whorls can provide insight to the ancient Levantine textile industry based on wool and linen textiles. Elizabeth J. W. Barber (1991) and Orit Shamir (2003, 2004) have previously investigated what can be inferred about textile production or society from spindle whorls. Issues arose, however with these studies because of small sample sizes and the lack of any compiled dataset of spindle whorls. Appreciating the lack of any existing dataset, my aim was to construct a diachronic dataset by using published site reports. The impact of analyzing prehistoric spindle whorls would be 1 Figure 1.1 Satellite Imagery of the Israel, Jordan, Palestine and Surrounding Area (Photo Courtesy of Google Maps). 2 greater than that for later periods, for which written sources or better preservation of textile related artifacts exist. The Pottery Neolithic (PN), Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze I (EBI) periods, dating 6500-3000 BCE, in the southern Levant exhibit changes in agricultural practices and social dynamics, which is why they were selected as the periods under investigation for this project. Diversity in subsistence and settlement patterns may be reflected in textile production and in spindle whorl variability. This reflection may be exhibited in the materials used for whorls, as well as the resulting materials produced by the whorls. Examining the Existing Literature While textile production has not been studied as extensively as other aspects of prehistoric society, there are a number of scholars who have researched the subject. The study of prehistoric textile production by Elizabeth J. W. Barber (1991) remains the definitive source on the subject.