String (structure): Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Flexible structure made from fibers twisted together}}

'''String''' is a long flexible [[structuretool]] made from [[fiber]]s twisted together into a single strand, or from multiple such strands which are in turn twisted together. String is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects. It is also used as a material to make things, such as textiles, and in arts and crafts. String is a simple [[tool]], and its use by humans is known to have been developed tens of thousands of years ago.<ref name="Evans and Webster">Susan Toby Evans, David L. Webster, ''Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia'' (2013), p. 812.</ref> In [[Mesoamerica]], for example, string was invented some 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, and was made by twisting plant fibers together.<ref name="Evans and Webster"/> String may also be a component in other tools, and in devices as diverse as weapons, musical instruments, and toys. [[File:Blue+Red String Under Microscope (40x).jpg|thumb|Two pieces of string under a light microscope]]

== History ==

String, along with [[twine]] and other [[Rope|cordage]], was used in prehistoric times for [[hafting]] sharp stone tips onto spears, in [[beadwork]], to ease [[Firelighting#Friction|firelighting]] (as part of a [[bow drill]], as well as for [[fishing]] lines and nets, [[clothing]], shelter-making materials, bow string, sutures, traps, and countless other uses.<ref name="Hodge2003">{{cite book|author=Frederick Webb Hodge|title=Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico V. 1/4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WmQgh7i-LdQC&pg=PA402|date=1 July 2003|publisher=Digital Scanning Inc|isbn=978-1-58218-748-8|pages=402–}}</ref>

Bow drills were used in [[Mehrgarh]] between the 4th and 5th millennium BC. Similar drills were found in other parts of the [[Indus Valley civilization]] and [[Iran]] one millennium later. In Roman times, the same principle also was used widely in drilling for purposes of [[woodworking]]<ref name="Ulrich2007">{{cite book|author=Roger Bradley Ulrich|title=Roman Woodworking|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DDh5yOgfnuoC&pg=PA30|year=2007|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=0-300-10341-7|pages=30–}}</ref> and [[dentistry]].<ref name="GargGarg2012">{{cite book|author1=Nisha Garg|author2=Amit Garg|title=Textbook of Operative Dentistry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WredzxNmeUMC&pg=PA103|date=30 December 2012|publisher=JP Medical Ltd|isbn=978-93-5025-939-9|pages=103–}}</ref>