A perforated stone from NEG II in front of its 3D model. Credit: Photographer Daniel Rolider for the Smithsonian Magazine.
A new study has identified 12,000-year-old spindle whorls – early tools used to spin fibers into yarn – in the Jordan Valley.
The discovery, recovered from the Nahal-Ein Gev II dig site in northern Israel, provides the earliest evidence of wheeled rotational technology in the Levant, offering insights into the technological advancements of the Natufian culture during the important transition to an agricultural lifestyle.
The study was led by Talia Yashuv and Professor Leore Grosman from the Computational Archaeology Laboratory at the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology.
Introducing an innovative method for studying perforated objects, based on digital 3-D models of the stones and their negative holes, the authors describe more than a hundred of the mostly limestone pebbles, which feature a circular shape perforated by a central hole.
Due to this structure and composition, the authors deduce that the stones were likely used as spindle whorls – a hypothesis also supported by successfully spinning flax using replicas of the stones.
Talia Yashuv at the excavation site of Nahal Ein Gev II. Credit: Photographed by Naftali Hilger.
Human innovation
Spindle whorls, round, weighted objects that are attached to a spindle stick, form a similar wheel-and-axle-like device to help the spindle rotate faster and longer, enabling it to efficiently gather up fibres such as wool or flax and spin them into yarn.
The discovery marks the earliest known evidence of this fast-spinning technology in the Levant, predating previously known textile tools by 4,000 years and highlighting an important stage in human innovation.
Grosman said: “These Natufian perforated stones are actually the first wheels in form and function — a round object with a hole in the centre connected to a rotating axle, used long before the appearance of the wheel for transportation purposes.”
This early use paved the way for future wheel-based rotational innovations, key advancements that revolutionised human technological history such as the potter’s wheel and the cart wheel that appeared 6,000 years ago.
The Nahal Ein Gev II site, with its permanent structures, lime-plastered burials, and diversified tools, provides a rare glimpse into the end of the Natufian culture and the transition from a hunter-gatherer society to an agricultural one.
The new findings underscore how the technological innovations are an important driving force in the Neolithization processes.
This study not only expands our understanding of technological innovation but also showcases how advanced research tools reveal insights into prehistoric craftsmanship, underscoring humanity’s enduring drive for innovation.
The study is published in PLOS ONE.
