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Deborah Harding

November 18, 2020 by wpengine

Seldom seen—archaeological textiles in the eastern United States

In my very first “Introduction to Anthropology” class, the professor, a cultural anthropologist, tried to steer us away from archaeology by telling us it was a childish pursuit for those who liked to play in the mud and hunt for treasure. That sounded like it was right up my alley.  I ended up spending my summers and an internship term working in Plymouth, Massachusetts, doing historical archaeology.  In addition, I also spent a lot of time in the collections of the college anthropology museum, found that I especially loved working with textiles and basketry, and eventually learned to weave both.

Working in the eastern United States, it’s hard to find archaeological textiles; the very world is against it. Acid soils and a temperate climate create conditions where little organic material survives to be studied, except in the rare instances of charred material or pieces in contact with copper, or still rarer, textiles deposited in dry caves. Even then the evidence is usually fragile and fragmentary.

What eastern archaeologists find is a lot of pottery, and luckily for us, much of it has been impressed with cordage or fabric. As part of the pottery making process, clay coils were consolidated by being beaten with a wooden paddle, a tool frequently wrapped with cordage or fabric. This technique may have initially developed to create decoration, but the resulting roughened surface also made for a better grip, and the increased surface area caused pots to heat quicker in cooking.

Archaeologists study the long-vanished textiles by making durable impressions of pottery surfaces with modeling clay or dental impression material. The information revealed through the thorough study of such impressions is not limited to the determination of just what type of cord or textile was used in making the original object.

The making of pottery impressions to look at textiles was first published by the pioneering archaeologist, W.H. Holmes, in “Prehistoric Textile Art of the Eastern United States.” Holmes started his scientific career as an illustrator, and included schematic drawings of the textile structures in his article.

image
Textile illustrations by Holmes.

When I worked at what is now the Florida Museum of Natural History, I got interested in the earliest pottery found in Florida, from what is known as the Orange culture. Dating from about 1500 BCE, these distinctive pieces were thick and very simply decorated. Their most interesting feature, at least to me, was that the clay pot bottoms had been pounded flat on matting, and the applied force made deep impressions. At least three different techniques were used, with variations and patterns within each, including several different matting materials.

Mat impressions from flat-bottomed pots, Tick Island, Volusia County, FL.

In one instance, a thick pot sherd had a smooth top surface, but a deep dent in the bottom; evidence the potter hadn’t removed a small pebble that was under the mat before the pot making.

Many studies have been done since W.H. Holmes, looking at such things as direction of the twist in cordage—a majority of right-handed or left-handed twist could indicate a culture-wide preference. Similar twist types in neighboring geographic areas might indicate related cultural or kin groups, while different twist types could indicate a cultural boundary. The type of material used [soft fiber, hard rods, flat cane-like splints] may indicate cultural preference, or perhaps the materials available in the immediate environment.

One study by Dr. Penelope Drooker, Mississippian Village Textiles at Wickliffe, introduced me both to some incredible textile impressions in pottery and the information that can be gleaned from them. Drooker’s work also analyzed and illustrated some textiles preserved in dry caves of eastern Tennessee, part of the Cherokee people’s ancestral lands. Among the materials she studied were skirts and bags from the Cliffty Creek Cave, artifacts now housed at the Smithsonian Institution. Working with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, NC, I was able to re-introduce members of the tribe to one of the oldest weaving techniques of their ancestors. A few tribal members have visited the Smithsonian to photograph Cliffty Creek Cave pieces [as have I], and are now making skirts for use in festivals and pageants. Several are making decorated bags for their own use, and for sale.

Kara Martin McKinney wearing reproduction of Cliffty Creek Cave skirt, and reproduction woman’s feather cape. Image Credit: Scott McKie, reporter for the Cherokee One Feather weekly newspaper in Cherokee, NC.

One of the great things about textiles or pottery is that you could spend your entire life studying them, and still not learn all that these materials embody–techniques, cultural traditions, and art, all rolled into one. My grandfather, who kept his faculties up to his death in his mid-90s, said, “The day you stop learning is the day you start to die.” I try to live by that.

Deborah Harding is the Collection Manager of the Section of Anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References and further reading:

Drooker, Penelope Ballard 1992  Mississippian village textiles at Wickliffe,  University of Alabama Press: Tuscaloosa and London

Holmes, W. H. 1896 “Prehistoric Textile Art of the Eastern United States” Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1891–1892, Government Printing Office Washington, pages 3–46.

Milanich, Jerald T. and Charles H. Fairbanks 1980 Florida Archaeology Academic Press: New York

Petersen, James B [editor] 1996 A most indispensable art: native fiber industries from Eastern North America, University of Tennessee Press: Knoxville

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/archaeology/native-american/early-middle-woodland-period.html

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: anthropology, Deborah Harding, Museum from Home, Science News

July 31, 2019 by wpengine

Dressing Fleas

box of three dressed fleas

“If we do not mass produce products, we vie with one another
in the difficult, exquisite and useless art of dressing fleas”

Octavio Paz [diplomat, poet, writer, winner of 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature]

The art of dressing fleas in costumes and creating tiny tableaus began in Mexico in the 19th century, centered around the state of Guanjuato. Some people believe that Pulgas Vestidas (dressed fleas) began being made in convents; they went on to become a craft done by ordinary people. Eventually they became something to sell to tourists. Dressed fleas were still being created well into the 1930s, the most popular forms being bride and groom or farmer and wife sets. Some were as elaborate as an entire mariachi band, complete with instruments.

One set of dressed fleas from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History collection. Each block underneath this box represents just one centimeter! 

In the 1920s Octavio Paz called it a “difficult art, exquisite and useless,” and added, “I shall never be one to disparage this amazing skill, since where spiritual health is concerned, building a skyscraper and adorning a flea are each as monstrous as the other.” A British entomologist, Tim Cockerill, has taught himself how to make them, and includes a modern bride and groom set on his website.

pair of dressed fleas in a box

The museum’s three sets of dressed fleas were acquired in the 1930s, and donated by different people in the late 20th century. They are part of an extensive collection of ethnographic and historic dolls. They are a must-see for anyone having a behind-the-scenes tour of the Anthropology storage areas. Dressed fleas are a prime example of human ingenuity and skill, even if a reason for being is not immediately obvious.

Deborah Harding is the collection manager of the Section of Anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Anthropocene, anthropology, archaeology, art, Deborah Harding, insects

May 3, 2017 by wpengine

Costa Rican Pottery Bird Adorno

bird made of clay from Costa Rica

by Deb Harding

The people of ancient Costa Rica put a lot of bird and animal imagery in their pottery, both painted and in the form of three-dimensional figures. This little bird dates from about 300-800 AD and sat on the shoulder of a large jar from the Guanacaste Peninsula in northwestern Costa Rica.


Deb Harding is a collection manager in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Anthropology. She frequently blogs and shares pieces of the museum’s hidden anthropology collection, which is home to over 100,000 ethnological and historical specimens and 1.5 million archaeological artifacts.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: anthropology, Deborah Harding

May 2, 2017 by wpengine

Costa Rican Archaeological Bowl

decorative clay bowl from Costa Rica

by Deb Harding

In the process of photographing all the archaeological pottery in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection, this bowl caught my eye. It was purchased as part of a huge collection from an estate owner in the Central Valley of Costa Rica around 1903 while Carnegie Museum curator Carl V. Hartman was doing the first scientific archaeological excavations in Costa Rica. Unfortunately, we do not have any information about the particular site or time period. This is the best example from a whole series of bowls that look like the pigs from Angry Birds™.


Deb Harding is a collection manager in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Anthropology. She frequently blogs and shares pieces of the museum’s hidden anthropology collection, which is home to over 100,000 ethnological and historical specimens and 1.5 million archaeological artifacts.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: anthropology, Deborah Harding

April 17, 2017 by wpengine

Lakota Moccasins

white, blue, red, and brown beaded moccasin shoes
In the Lakota culture, women sometimes express affection for men and children by beading every surface of their moccasins. These beaded moccasins are on display in Alcoa Hall of American Indians at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians, Deborah Harding, Native Americans

April 4, 2017 by wpengine

Carved Wooden Gope Board

Carved wooden board from Morigio Island depicting a human-like figure

Gope boards are carved wooden tablets made by groups in the Gulf of Papua. They represent ancestral spirits who protect members of the clan from bad luck, sickness, and death. This particular board from the museum’s hidden collection is from Morigio Island. The photographic scale in the image is about 8 inches long. It was photographed in the diagonal in order to best show the board’s details.


Deb Harding is a collection manager in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Anthropology. She frequently blogs and shares pieces of the museum’s hidden anthropology collection, which is home to over 100,000 ethnological and historical specimens and 1.5 million archaeological artifacts.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: anthropology, Deborah Harding

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