New Evidence for Prehistoric Textile Production and Social Complexity on the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, Southwestern China

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper presents new discoveries of textile tools and fabric remains from the Yanyuan Basin, offering insights into textile production and social complexity on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau from the late 4th to the late 1st millennium b.c. The findings from the Yanyuan Basin, along with those from other parts of the region, indicate that spindle whorls have been used by individuals with diverse cultural traditions and of different social status since the Neolithic period. In the Bronze Age, clay whorls generally came from small and medium burials, likely associated with spinning workers. However, bronze textile tools were commonly found in large burials from the late Bronze Age, during which significant social stratification took place, and they were likely symbols of the wealth and high social status of the occupants. This study proposes that textile production changed from a household activity to a socially organized activity over time.