What's a Spindle Whorl?

A spindle whorl is a disc or spherical object fitted onto the spindle to increase and maintain the speed of the spin. For ages the whorls have been made of many different materials: amber, antler, bone, ceramic, coral, glass, metal, and wood.

What does a spindle whorl do?

Spindle whorls were used to weight spindles when hand-spinning yarn. They were made in a variety of materials including stone, ceramic fragments and fired clay.

What are spindle whorls in Harappan civilization?

Spindle whorls (made of terracotta and faience) were used to spin fibres into thread. Things were made by specialists, people who were trained to do only one kind of work. Raw materials to make things came from either natural or human-made resources.