Wool Spinning

– Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan was known for having a soft cashmere, even if it wasn't produced as much as it could have been (there was no infrastructure to process the fiber, so it was all done small scale by hand)[1]

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Azerbaijan

Spun wool dates to the 4th millennium BCEin Azerbaijan, and while dyed spun flax date to 34,000 BCE.[2]

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Bhutan

Wools in Bhutan are typically made from yak, sheep, and goat.[3]

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Cyprus

Cyprus had large scale wool productions, more than just in the home, as early as the late Bronze Age[4] In the first millennium BCE, spinning and weaving was done both inside the house as well as in workshops.[5]

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Kazakhstan

Most of Kazakhstan was a nomadic society. Thus they would have used spindles to do their work. Also, they probably worked mostly with animal fibers.

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Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan has raised cashmere goats for centuries, but only recently found an international market for the soft fiber[6]

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Mongolia

Fibers in Mongolia were primarily goat (cashmere is and was huge) camel, and sheep, as raising plant fibers was (and is) not really a thing.[7]

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Nepal

The primary fibers used in Nepal were yak, camel, hemp, and cotton.[8]

Dating to the Sassanian Empire (224 to 651 CE), the fibers found and produced in Turkmenistan were wool, cotton, and silk.[9]

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Uzbekistan

The nomads of Uzbekistan would use a lot of wool and cashmere, as that’s what was available and spin on spindles as they didn't have much space.[10]