Spinning bowls are known especially from Egypt, but several examples have also been found in the Palestine area; they are spread from the Middle Bronze Age to the Late period. According to the traditional view the most ancient spinning bowls are those from Egypt, which do not predate the Middle Kingdom, while the Palestinian specimens were derived from the Egyptians’, but some evidence challenges this dating. A spinning bowl kept in the Museo Egizio in Turin was traditionally dated to the New Kingdom, but it shows several features which suggest an earlier dating. Study of Schiaparelli’s excavation notes and comparison with similar objects from Tell el-Farkha suggest that a Predynastic date is more plausible. Egyptian spinning bowls were thus probably introduced at least in late Predynastic times. Excavations in Jordan have shown that in that area these items existed as early as the late Chalcolithic period. Different types of morphologies and specimens that are only partially preserved can make the identification of these bowls quite challenging.
