Object Biography: Mexican Spindle Whorl

Object Biography: Mexican Spindle Whorl Though it may seem like a mere lump of clay to the average individual, in reality, a spindle whorl represents a ubiquitous and methodical practice of production that was used for thousands of years across the globe. However bland one may appear, in their time of use, spindle whorls were vital tools for countless cultures. Used to spin thread, these small tools were utilized by individuals in every corner of the globe for generations in order to ease the process of fabric and textile assembly. This very practice proved to be the chief technique for manufacturing commodities such as clothing and other various articles. Decades after the end of their popularized use, spindle whorls have returned to the …show more content…
As detailed by the Museum of Anthropology’s artifact database, my particular whorl was created in Mexico by a certain native Mexican culture. Seeing as there were, and in some cases still are, multiple noted Mexican cultures, the whorl’s past gets slightly complex. However, according to eHRAF World Cultures, an organization specializing in ethnographic collection and analysis, the three most notable cultures in which discovered spindle whorls were recorded and surveyed were the Huichol and Tarahumara cultures of Northern Mexico and the Nahua culture of Central Mexico. Though extremely popular in the Mexican region, spindle whorls have been used in a myriad of places, including other …show more content…
While it is interpreted as a totally foreign practice today, many years ago, from the Neolithic period up until around the 19th century, when spinning thread became more of a hobby rather than a responsibility, spindle whorls were a critical piece in the process of producing clothing and other textiles. To operate such a tool as the spindle whorl, one also had to possess a dowel to have a complete tool. According to K. Kris Hirst, an archaeologist author, once assembled together, the whorl and dowel would work in unison as selected thread is, “attached to the dowel, and the spindle is then made to rotate, in a clockwise or counterclockwise fashion, twisting and compressing the fibers as it collects them on top of the whorl.” At the time of its creation, the spindle whorl, and the larger spindle itself, was revolutionary for textile production. Thus, a wide spectrum of cultures used spindle whorls for thousands of years. From Mexican plains to hills of the United Kingdom, from hunter-gathers to horticulturalists, for years, spindle whorls reigned as an essential piece for the larger system of spinning