Uzbekistan Spinning
The society of Uzbekistan in the pre 10th century was very divided, with part being agricultural and part being nomadic.[1] The nomads 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.[1] The agricultural people would also grow cotton and silkworms (sericulture) and spin on hand cranked wheels.[1]
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Women Spinning or “twisting” at their wheels.[2] I love it. (The photo is titled “Ancient Technology of Twisting” and it makes me giggle)
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It looks like the distance between drum and spindle is really hecking small on this one! Anyway, this is a Uzbekistani woman spinning cotton.[3]
References
[1] Binafsha Nodir, “Historical Overview of Weaving in Uzbekistan ,” World Bulletin of Social Science 22 (May 24, 2023): 143–54. https://scholarexpress.net/index.php/wbss/article/view/2765/2373
https://scholarexpress.net/index.php/wbss/article/view/2765/2373
[2] Turgunboy Mirzaakhmedov, Ancient Technology of Twisting, 2017, photograph, Photo Pop up - UNESCO, 2017, https://ich.unesco.org/en/photo-pop-up-00973?photoID=10809.
[3] David Trilling, “Before Uzbekistan’s Cotton Industry Exploded, a Russian General Made These Pictures,” Eurasianet, April 26, 2019, https://eurasianet.org/before-uzbekistans-cotton-industry-exploded-a-russian-general-made-these-pictures.