Hi! I'm glad you've been enjoying the game. I'm not developing or maintaining the game any longer.
As for the icons, the fist is the villager's strength, and the spool is the villager's craftsmanship. The latter increases when building things, and the former when doing other work (chopping, working the fields, etc.). A higher value increases the speed at which the task is finished, and the values decrease with time, especially during old age. Sounds like a half-baked idea that didn't really pan out to much :)