12,000-year-old perforated stones found over years of excavations in Israel may “represent early evidence for the adoption of spinning with the ’spindle and whorl’ device,” according to newly published research in PLOS ONE.

The wheel-shaped stones were found at Nahal Ein-Gev II in the Jordan Valley of Israel, over many years of excavations. A total of 113 perforated stones have been discovered in the area since 1972. 

Of those stones found, 48 of them had complete perforation, 36 were broken items with partial holes present and 29 were unfinished items with one or two drill marks, according to the research. 

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The stones were “dominantly limestone,” co-authors Talia Yasuv and Leore Grosman of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in their published research, ranging in weight from 1 to 34 grams. 

Researchers came up with several theories about what these perforated stones could be.

“An initial thought was they may have been related to fishing,” Yasuv told Fox News Digital in an email. Researchers ultimately came to the conclusion that, because of the shape of the stones, the material, plus the shape and size of the holes made, that they were most likely spindle whorls. 

The perforated stones were found during excavations of the Nahal Ein Gev II (NEG II) in Israel’s Jordan Valley.  (Naftali Hilger)

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High-resolution 3D models were used in this research to study the stones in much more detail. 

“For the naked eye, the collection of stones seems highly variable, with no standardization in the sense that every stone in the assemblage is different and unique,” Yashuv said. 

“However, the 3D analysis pointed out morphological parameters that showed there are standard measures — for example, width/length ratio, a central location of the centre of mass, the fact that the perforations were located at that point too, and that the minimal width of the perforation is at a constant measure,” Yashuv continued.

The authors of the study noted that their theory could be strengthened by “use wear analysis,” but explained that the particular method was “beyond the scope of the present article.” 

The stones were observed in great detail by researchers to gather a better understanding of their past use. Research included 3D modeling as well as a test with replicas to test the stones’ functionality as spindle whorls.  (Laurent Davin)

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What was done as part of this study, beyond 3D modeling, was a feasibility test to test the functionality of the items as ancient spindle whorls. This was done with the help of Yonit Kristal, a traditional craft-making expert, per the study. 

“Although those parameters pointed to the functionality of spindle whorls, we were left with a doubt and therefore ran a feasibility test with replicas we produced,” Yashuv said.

Though Kristal’s first initial attempt didn’t work well, the authors explained in their research, she eventually was able to spin both wool and flax using the pebbles as spindle whorls.   

“Surprisingly, the experiment demonstrated that not only do the replicas function well as spindle whorls, but that the parameters we suspected as disadvantageous were actually beneficial for this purpose,” Yashuv said. 

Yashuv believes that this discovery is bigger than just a matter of “who’s first.” 

“The ‘earliest’ spindle whorl could easily become irrelevant when an additional earlier find will be found,” Yashuv pointed out. “However, since we suggest an explanation to how come the innovation disappeared, if an earlier find would be retrieved, it could join into the general scheme we presented.”   

Through the multistep process of studying the perforated rocks, the researchers came to the conclusion that these items could have been spindle whorls that were used to spin fibers. 

“In a cumulative evolutionary trend, they manifest early phases of the development of rotational technologies by laying the mechanical principle of the wheel and axle,” the researcher wrote in their study. “All in all, it reflects on the technological innovations that played an important part in the Neolithization processes of the Southern Levant.”

Washington, DC – The United States Senate has rejected a bill that aimed to block a US weapons sale to Israel amid the country’s war on Gaza, an outcome that rights advocates say does not take away from a growing push to condition aid to Washington’s top ally.

A resolution to halt the sale of tank rounds failed to advance in a 79 to 18 vote on Wednesday with prominent progressives and mainstream Democratic senators backing the effort.

Two more resolutions to halt the sale of other weapons are still to be voted on, but the results are expected to be similar.

The proposal was part of a series of measures known as Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) that Senator Bernie Sanders introduced in September to reject the sale of offensive weapons to Israel as part of a $20bn deal approved by the administration of President Joe Biden.

It was the first time ever that a weapon sale to Israel was subjected to such a vote.

While support for the push may appear minimal, it represents a crack in the bipartisan consensus over unconditional US aid to Israel.

Beth Miller, political director at the US-based advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace, said the vote is an “inflexion point” in the decades-long effort to restrict Washington’s military assistance to Israel.

“This is too little too late; this genocide has been going on for 13 months, but that does not change the fact that this is a critically important step,” Miller told Al Jazeera.

Mainstream support

In addition to Sanders, Senators Peter Welch, Jeff Merkley, Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine and Brian Schatz backed the resolution to block offensive munitions to Israel.

While Sanders is a progressive independent who caucuses with Democrats, some of the lawmakers who backed the effort come from the mainstream wing of the party.

Kaine was the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee in the 2016 elections that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost to incoming Republican President Donald Trump.

In a statement announcing his vote earlier on Wednesday, Kaine called for work towards “de-escalation and a sustainable peace” in the region.

“Continued offensive weapons transfers will worsen the current crisis and add more fuel to the fire of regional instability,” the senator said.

“Therefore, while I voted for the $14 billion defense aid package for Israel in April and continue to support the transfer of defensive weapons, I will vote to oppose the transfers of mortars, tank rounds, and Joint Direct Attack Munitions [JDAMs] to Israel.”

Ongoing US backing of Israel has been vital for funding the war on Gaza and Lebanon.

A recent Brown University study found that the Biden administration spent $17.9bn on security assistance to Israel over the past year, despite warnings of United Nations experts that the US ally is committing genocide in Gaza.

That assistance has persisted despite growing Israeli atrocities, including widespread destruction in Lebanon, sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners and the suffocating siege in Gaza that has been starving the territory.

White House intervention

While Republicans were united in opposition to the measures, HuffPost reported that the Biden administration lobbied Democratic senators to vote against them.

Shelley Greenspan, the White House Liaison to the American Jewish community, appeared to confirm that report.

Greenspan, a former employee of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), shared – with an approving emoji – a social media post saying that a lame duck Biden remains staunchly supportive of Israel, including by lobbying against Sanders’s resolutions.

The White House did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

👇 https://t.co/FDdGmz1SxM

— Shelley Greenspan (@ShelleyGspan) November 20, 2024

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced the White House’s lobbying efforts.

“We strongly condemn the White House’s dishonest campaign to pressure Senate Democrats into avoiding even a symbolic vote against the delivery of more American taxpayer-funded weapons to the out-of-control Netanyahu government,” the group said in a statement.

“The Biden administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East has been a disastrous failure.”

CAIR is one of dozens of advocacy and rights groups that backed the resolution.

In a speech on the Senate floor before the vote, Sanders cited that support ahead of the vote.

He said the resolutions are “simple, straightforward and not complicated”. He argued that the measures aim to apply US laws that prohibit military assistance to countries that block humanitarian aid and commit abuses.

“A lot of folks come to the floor to talk about human rights and what’s going on around the world, but what I want to say to all those folks: Nobody is going to take anything you say with a grain of seriousness,” Sanders said.

“You cannot condemn human rights [violations] around the world and then turn a blind eye to what the United States government is now funding in Israel. People will laugh in your face. They will say to you, ‘You’re concerned about China; you’re concerned about Russia; you’re concerned about Iran. Well, why are you funding the starvation of children in Gaza right now?”

‘Moral obligation’

Senator Jacky Rosen, a staunchly pro-Israel Democrat, spoke out against the resolutions, arguing that restrictions on aid to Israel would empower Iran and its allies in the region.

“Israel has an absolute right to defend itself, and the aid provided by America is critical,” Rosen said.

If the resolution had passed, it would have needed to be approved in the House of Representatives as well before reaching the president’s desk, and Biden would have likely blocked them.

A presidential veto can be overturned with a two-thirds majority in the House and the Senate.

Several Democrats in the House of Representatives had voiced support for the JRDs.

Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and eight other lawmakers said in a joint statement: “President-elect Trump’s return to the White House will only embolden Netanyahu and his far-right ministers. A vote for the joint resolutions of disapproval is a vote to politically restrain the Netanyahu government from any forthcoming efforts to formally annex the West Bank and settle parts of Gaza.”

Miller, of Jewish Voice for Peace, said lawmakers had ethical, legal and political obligations to vote in favour of the resolution.

“There is a moral obligation for them to stop arming a genocide. There is a legal obligation for them to follow US law and stop sending weapons to a government that is using our equipment in violation of our own law. And there is a political obligation for them to do what their constituents are telling them to do,” she said.