Wheel-and-axle combinations are known for their essential role in advancing technologies, typically linked with Bronze Age carts. Spindle whorls are round, weighted items affixed to spindle rods, forming a rotational mechanism that helps spin fibers like wool or flax into yarn more efficiently.
The stones analyzed in this study were excavated from Nahal-Ein Gev II in northern Israel and date back approximately 12,000 years to the Neolithic period, a time marking the shift to agricultural societies, long before the emergence of cart wheels in the Bronze Age. The researchers utilized advanced digital 3D modeling to examine the stones and their perforations. The collection, mostly limestone pebbles with central holes, matched characteristics of spindle whorls. Tests with replicas of these stones confirmed their potential use in spinning flax.
This evidence supports the idea that these objects may be among the earliest known examples of humans utilizing wheel-like tools for rotation, potentially influencing subsequent innovations such as the potter's wheel and cart wheel, which were fundamental to early civilizations.
The researchers noted: "The most important aspect of the study is how modern technology allows us to delve deep into touching the fingerprints of the prehistoric craftsman, then learn something new about them and their innovativeness, and at the same time, about our modern technology and how we're linked."
Research Report:12,000-year-old spindle whorls and the innovation of wheeled rotational technologies
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