Tracing the thread: Spinning experiments with Etruscan spindle whorl replicas

Published in Origini n. XL/2017. Rivista annuale del Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità – “Sapienza” Università di Roma | Preistoria e protostoria delle civiltà antiche – Prehistory and protohistory of ancient civilizations | This paper focuses on the experimental tests of archaeological spinning tools carried out within the project TexSEt (Textiles in Southern Etruria). We were asked to test the functionality of some replicas of ancient spindle whorls of different shapes and sizes, for spinning wool and flax. Having different spinning backgrounds, we approached this experience from different points of view: a more “craft-oriented” and “anthropological” in one case, and a more “archaeological” and “experimental” in the other. The results were also different, since in addition to quantitative considerations, more qualitative aspects of work have emerged, such as preferences for and dislikes of certain gestures and tools arising from our different habits and traditions. From these experiences, it seems to emerge that not only tool characteristics but also spinner’s work habits and intentions determine the features of the yarn spun with specific spinning tools.