BRONZE AGE ANTLER AND BONE SPINDLE WHORLS IN THE SOUTHEAST OF IBERIA

Abstract

The elaboration of spindle whorls for the manufacture of thread using spindles is attested in the Iberian Peninsula from the end of the Neolithic. There is no evidence, however, of the use of materials other than stone or pottery to produce spindle whorls during this period. In the southeastern area of the Iberian Peninsula, spindle whorls of bone and antler begin to appear in archaeological contexts from the middle of the 2^nd millennium. In this paper, we analyze the two different types of spindle whorls present and the techniques used in their manufacture. Likewise, we deal with the meanings of their presence in the framework of the textile production during the Middle and Late Bronze Age.