西アジア銅石器時代の繊維利用 : シリア, テル・コサック・シャマリ遺跡出土資料からの検討
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概要
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Tell Kosak Shamali is a small site located on the eastern bank of the upper Euphrates valley in Syria, 40km south of the Turkish border. The excavations of the 1994-1997 seasons exposed thick deposits from the Pottery-Neolithic to the Middle Uruk Periods and yielded a large number of artifacts and well-preserved buildings. In this article, I describe the 25 Chalcolithic spindle whorls and the other objects relating to fiber exploitation excavated at Tell Kosak Shamali and draw conclusions about Chalcolithic fiber exploitation.Spindle whorls are the flywheels of spindles, which spin fibers into yarn. The weight of the spindle whorls is a critical factor because it is closely related to characteristics of the fiber material and the thread thickness. When one spins fine fibers into fine thread, a light whorl is suitable, whereas a heavy whorl is suitable for heavy fibers. An analysis of the weight of the whorls excavated there reveals that their weight tended to decrease toward the later period. This trend suggests the improvement of fiber production at Kosak Shamali. It seems to corresponded with the tendency to move away from using sheep/goats purely for meat and toward their use for secondary production (wool and milk).The weights of spindle whorls are divided into 2 categories, 9-47g (n=24) and 162g (n=1). Each category was probably used for spinning a different kind of fiber. The lighter whorls were probably used for spinning wool, and heavy one, for flax. I also examined the diameters of the holes of beads/pendants and seals and the rope impressions on clay sealings because they indicate the fineness and/or the spinning direction of the thread. Considering the decline in weight of the spindle whorls from Tell Kosak Shamali in view of previous studies on wool exploitation, I conclude that the decline may be related to the increase in the importance of fiber production during the Chalcolithic Period.