could plummets have been for spinning thread?

[GatorBoy]

This recent find of mine has shed some light...at least for me on these artifacts. This one is made of pottery and was found in an archaic context...approximately 4000-2500 B.P. it obviously was not used as a net or fishing line weight could not have been used for any type of bola. With the help of this find I think I am subscribing to the idea that they were part of a loom set up. I would like to hear other opinions.

 

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[GaRebel1861]

Interesting thought, because I've never heard of anything they were known to really do. I would be very interested in others opinion as well.

 

[bblaha]

How do you think this would be used in that context?

 

[GatorBoy]

Well...the term plummet was given to it only because it resembles a plumb Bob. I assume you know what that is..I took that function and applied it to their need for perpendicular lines and thought they did not need it for building purposes so what then.. then I thought it would be useful to hang threads to keep them organized in the weaving process. Then I recalled watching an old Mexican woman making thread by spinning multiple single fibers together by hanging them with a small weight and spinning it with her foot.

 

[tomclark]

I wondered a bit about this.....even a simple loom would require many of the same size plummets.....not found that way...
But yes to twist fiber to make string..........
I still think these little ones were ornamental as well as the finely made large ones. The crude ones were hook/net weights, maybe some even used like bola stones.
I can't believe it though I have one exactly the same size and shape as that one from this coast. The groove on too many plummets is awful JACK, wouldn't hold much of a knot or line.....
Many of these found locally where associated with burials and the chest area, described by archies at the time as pendants, all types.

then there's THIS photo, think taken at HOKO site (holy cow check that out on internet!) Different area, but.............

 

[GatorBoy]

How so... I just can't see wearing something that will hit me in the face every time I bend over. Some of those finely made ones are hardstone. Mabey to hang over a hut for healing.. or luck fishing... I don't know? I just can't see how they could be made so much alike from one coast to another without a single specific function. It just seems like charmstone is a lable on just about anything that has no definitive function.

 

[IllinoisDug]

The time it would have taken to make some of the nicer onces I have seen (and the material selected) really makes me wonder about them having a utilitarian use.

 

[GatorBoy]

It would take a long time to make a cloth of any size in that way. That is a very important item. If a man would keep the same bone handle long enough for his fingers to wear grooves in it..(I have one) then why then would something as important as tools used to make the clothes on your back not be kept..celebrated with artwork and treated with pride?

 

[GatorBoy]

That last photo and that site are very interesting Tom. Thank you

 

[tomclark]

they've been making fine thread and textiles in FL for at last 9K years!
Windover Site"

 

[GatorBoy]

Awesome link! Check out this piece I managed to save from the bog on the property I'm working.

 

[Gold Maven]

Ornamental. I hate that word when it comes to artifacts. I don't believe pre historic man had that much free time to devote to ornamental objects, this thread spinning idea is a very good thought.
Most of your time would be spent looking for food, and trying to avoid becoming food.
Hanging things around your neck that had no purpose doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[GatorBoy]

Thanks for your input

 

[GatorBoy]

Even the crude ones seem to me like a handy item to have in a tool pouch for spinning simple cord in the field.

 

[newnan man]

Plummets? Same with gorgets. No one really knows what they were for but most likely a type of ornament since they were almost always polished. Native americans did take time for ornaments and also tatoos, ear spools, drilled teeth etc. They worked like we do but those things were important. Status has always been important to any culture and many times ornaments were used to signify ones status. Probably not worn constantly but still utilized.
Another over used word when an artifacts purpose is questioned is "ceremonial". I'm sure there were ceremonies and ornaments but I agree with Gold Maven that most things found are utilitarian.

 

[GatorBoy]

Agreed... but I have seen a lot of plummets I'm pretty sure no one was wearing to show status..unless to show low. Just saying some are very crude which would make me think needed quickly for use. They have the same basic form from Florida to Oregon. That seems to me to suggest a common use.

 

[BeachComber7]

Great video Tom! Thanks for sharing it!

 

[BeachComber7]

Nice Bill!

 

[GatorBoy]

Hey there..thanks

 

[JUNKYARD DOG]

I have read some where that 3 plumits were tied together with cord seperated by maybe
12 inches or so and thrown at a animals legs to trip them up for capture. what do you think?