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Introduction
This roster has been established by Christine K. Kimbrough, and the definitions given below are hers. This roster deals with the impression of cordage and textile, as found primarily on sealings.
| ZaiK1 |
sp |
spin |
The direction in which the thread or cord was originally spun. The primary importance of determining this variable is to facilitate the evaluation of the uniformity of spinning technology and practice. There are some who have argued that it also determines to some extent the handed‑ness of the spinner but this is inconclusive. When the direction of spin is determined from an impression on clay (or any plastic substance), you have to remember that you are viewing the negative and thus the direction of spin is the opposite of what it appears. |
| ZaiK2 |
an |
angle |
The angle of twist indicates the tightness of the spin of a thread or cord. Tightness of spin can be illuminate details of spinning technology such as the range of weights or diameters of spindle whorls that were used and again the uniformity of spinning technology and practice. Angle of twist is measured by drawing a line across the thread from the lower point where the twist of the fiber intersects the edge of the thread or cord. Then, the angle is measured from this line to where the twist intersects the other edge. Of course, no angle of twist should exceed 90 degrees. 90 degrees would indicate no twist, and in fact, approximately 80 to 90 degrees may indicate the natural twist of the fiber. Generally, 0 to 30 degrees of twist is considered tight, 30 to 60 degrees medium, and 60 to 90 degrees loose. |
| ZaiK3 |
t1 |
thread1 |
This is the number of threads per centimeter in one direction in a cloth impression. Since identifying warp or weft in small impressions is most often impossible, no attempt is made to designate such terms to one set of threads in an impression. Threads are simply counted in one direction, usually the direction in which the impression is widest (unless otherwise noted), and the the other (variable thread2). This measurement provides a basis for comparing impressions both within the Mozan corpus and with textile impressions from other archaeological sites. The number of threads per centimeter indicates the fineness of the cloth. Differences between thread1 and thread2 indicate to some extent the type of weave. |
| ZaiK4 |
t2 |
thread2 |
The number of threads in the second (smaller width) direction of a cloth impression. |
| ZaiK5 |
tw |
twists |
This variable describes the type of weave of a cloth or basket impression in the terms used most widely in the archaeological and textile literature. For definitions of these terms and illustrations see Emery 1981, Broudy ??, and Barber 1991. The terms allow for the comparison of the textiles in this corpus with each other and with impressions from other sites. They also provide a basis for analyzing technical aspects of weaving at Mozan and placing the textiles and basketry impressions from Mozan in a larger historical and technological context. |
| ZaiK6 |
wv |
weave |
This variable describes the type of weave of a cloth or basket impression in the terms used most widely in the archaeological and textile literature. For definitions of these terms and illustrations see Emery 1981, Broudy ??, and Barber 1991. The terms allow for the comparison of the textiles in this corpus with each other and with impressions from other sites. They also provide a basis for analyzing technical aspects of weaving at Mozan and placing the textiles and basketry impressions from Mozan in a larger historical and technological context. |
| ZaiK7 |
hd |
hole diameter |
This variable is the diameter of a hole in a spindle whorl or wheel. This measurement is one parameter for determining whether or not an object could have used as a spindle (the hole must be wide enough to accommodate a spindle). Hole diameter is one of the variables used by Liu (1978) to differentiate between spindle whorls and beads. In addition, other studies of spindle whorls make use of this measurement which means that it provides another variable for comparing spindle whorls from Mozan with those from other archaeological sites. |
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