The development of prehispanic cotton-spinning technology in western morelos, mexico

Cotton textiles played important economic, social, and political roles in the Prehispanic civilizations ofMesoamerica, yet archaeologists have made little progress in the analysis of textile production beyond the simple identification of spindle whorls. In this article we identify and describe whorls and a second artifactual marker of cotton spinning: ceramic spinning bowls. Quantitative changes in the occurrence of these artifacts in excavated contexts from the Mexican state of Morelos are then used to discuss the development of the local cotton industry from the Epiclassic through the Late Postclassic periods. The Postclassic cultures of Morelos apparently produced a number of innovations in cotton-spinning technology, and these changes along with increased textile production levels are linked to demographic, economic, and political changes occurring throughout Central Mexico at that time.