Calculating moment of inertia of spindle whorls as a method for understanding Iron Age textile production

Summary

Excavations of Iron Age hillfort's in Northwestern Portugal, known as castros, have yielded many spindle whorls, but no extant fabrics due to the nature of preservation in the region. This leaves the question "what types of textile were produced?" In an attempt to answer this question, I calculate the moment of inertia (MI) for spindle whorls collected from three different sites in the Ave River Valley. MI represents the angular momentum of a whorl, allowing for the whorls various characteristics, such as diameter and density, to be considered as a single value. Comparing the calculated MI of each whorl in comparison with the shape of each whorl, I attempt to establish clear differentiation between the average values for each type of whorl and connect this with different types of fibers used during the Iron Age in Northwestern Portugal.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage