Spindle whorls appeared in the Neolithic era. These whorls are discs of wood, stone, clay, or metal with a hole in the centre for the spindle, which keep the spindle steady and promote its rotation. Ī spindle containing a quantity of yarn rotates more easily, steadily, and continues longer than an empty one hence, the next improvement was the addition of a weight called a spindle whorl at the bottom of the spindle. When held thus, one hand was left free for drawing out the fibres. The other end of the distaff was held in the hand, under the arm or thrust in the girdle of the spinner. It was a short stick, on one end of which was loosely wound the raw material. The distaff was used for holding the bunch of wool, flax, or other fibres. Another bunch of fibres is drawn out, the spindle is given another twirl, the yarn is wound on the spindle, and so on. The twisted yarn is then wound on to the upper part of the spindle. A whirling motion is given to the spindle on the thigh or any convenient part of the body. With the right hand the fibres are drawn out several inches and the end fastened securely in the slit or hook on the top of the spindle. The bunch of wool or plant fibres is held in the left hand. Later, a hook of bone was added to the upper end. At first the stick had a cleft or split in the top in which the thread was fixed. The next method of spinning yarn is with the spindle, a straight stick eight to twelve inches long on which the yarn is wound after twisting. Later, the fibre is fastened to a stone which is twirled round until the yarn is sufficiently twisted, whereupon it is wound upon the stone and the process repeated over and over. In the most primitive type of spinning, tufts of animal hair or plant fibre are rolled down the thigh with the hand, and additional tufts are added as needed until the desired length of spun fibre is achieved. There has also been recent discovery of plied cord spun by Neanderthals and dating back 41,000-52,000 years. The origins of spinning fibre to make string or yarn are lost in time, but archaeological evidence in the form of representation of string skirts has been dated to the Upper Paleolithic era some 20,000 years ago. Main article: History of clothing and textiles
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