SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION—BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.

PREHISTORIC TEXTILE FABRICS

OF THE

UNITED STATES,

DERIVED FROM IMPRESSIONS ON POTTERY.

BY

WILLIAM H. HOLMES.

CONTENTS.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY   ANNUAL REPORT 1882 PL. XXXIX 1. POTSHERD. 2. CLAY CAST. 3. POTSHERD. 4. CLAY CAST. 5. POTSHERD. 6. CLAY CAST. A. Hoen & Co. Litho     , Baltimore. POTTERY WITH IMPRESSIONS OF TEXTILE FABRICS.

PREHISTORIC TEXTILE FABRICS OF THE UNITED STATES,
DERIVED FROM IMPRESSIONS ON POTTERY.

By W. H. Holmes.

INTRODUCTORY.

It is not my intention in this paper to make an exhaustive study of
the art of weaving as practiced by the ancient peoples of this country.
To do this would necessitate a very extended study of the materials used
and of the methods of preparing them, as well as of the arts of spinning
and weaving practiced by primitive peoples generally. This would be a
very wide field, and one which I have no need of entering. I may state
here, however, that the materials used by savages in weaving their
simple fabrics consist generally of the fibre of bark, flax, hemp,
nettles, and grasses, which is spun into thread of various sizes; or of
splints of wood, twigs, roots, vines, porcupine quills, feathers, and a
variety of animal tissues, either plaited or used in an untwisted state.
The articles produced are mats, baskets, nets, bags, plain cloths, and
entire garments, such as capes, hats, belts, and sandals.

It has been noticed by a few authors that twisted or plaited cords,
as well as a considerable variety of woven fabrics, have been used by
primitive tribes in the manufacture and ornamentation of pottery.
Impressions of these made in the soft clay are frequently preserved on
very ancient ware, the original fabrics having long since crumbled to
dust. It is to these that I propose calling attention, their restoration
having been successfully accomplished in many hundreds of cases by
taking impressions in clay from the ancient pottery.

The perfect manner in which the fabric in all its details of
plaiting, netting, and weaving can be brought out is a matter of
astonishment; the cloth itself could hardly make all the particulars of
its construction more manifest.

The examples presented in the accompanying plate will be very
instructive, as the fragment of pottery is given on the left, with its
rather obscure intaglio impressions, and the clay cast on the right with
the cords of the fabric in high relief. The great body of illustrations
have been made in pen directly from the clay impressions, and, although

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details are more distinctly shown than in the specimens themselves, I
believe that nothing is presented that cannot with ease be seen in the
originals. Alongside of these restorations I have placed illustrations
of fabrics from other primitive sources.

There appears to be a pretty general impression that baskets of the
ordinary rigid character have been extensively used by our ancient
peoples in the manufacture of pottery to build the vessel in or upon;
but my investigations tend to show that such is not the case, and that
nets or sacks of pliable materials have been almost exclusively
employed. These have been applied to the surface of the vessel,
sometimes covering the exterior entirely, and at others only the body or
a part of the body. The interior surface is sometimes partially
decorated in the same manner.

The nets or other fabrics used have generally been removed before the
vessel was burned or even dried. Professor Wyman, in speaking casually
of the cord-marked pottery of Tennessee, says:

“It seems incredible that even an Indian would be so prodigal of time
and labor as to make the necessary quantity of well-twisted cord or
thread, and weave it into shape for the mere purpose of serving as a
mold which must be destroyed in making a single copy.”

This remark is, however, based upon a false assumption. The fact that
the net or fabric has generally been removed while the clay was still
soft being susceptible of easy proof. I have observed in many cases that
handles and ornaments have been added, and that impressed and incised
designs have been made in the soft clay after the removal of the
woven fabric; besides this there would be no need of the support of a
net after the vessel had been fully finished and slightly hardened.
Furthermore, I have no doubt that these textilia were employed as
much for the purpose of enhancing the appearance of the vessel as for
supporting it during the process of construction. I have observed, in
relation to this point, that in a number of cases, notably the great
salt vessels of Saline River, Illinois, the fabric has been applied
after the vessel was finished. I arrive at this conclusion from having
noticed that the loose threads of the net-like cover sag or festoon
toward the rim as if applied to the inverted vessel, Fig. 82. If the net had been used to suspend the vessel
while building, the threads would necessarily have hung in the opposite
direction.

In support of the idea that ornament was a leading consideration in
the employment of these coarse fabrics, we have the well-known fact that
simple cord-markings, arranged to form patterns, have been employed by
many peoples for embellishment alone. This was a common practice of the
ancient inhabitants of Great Britain, as shown by Jewett. The
accompanying cut (Fig. 60) is copied from his work.1

It is a remarkable fact that very few entire cord-marked vessels have

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been obtained in this country, although fragments of such are very
plentiful.

Fig. 60.—Ancient British vase with cord ornamentation.	Fig. 61.—Ancient fabric marked vessel, Pennsylvania.

In Fig. 61 we have an ancient vase from Pennsylvania. It presents a
combination of net or basket markings and of separate cord-markings. The
regularity of the impressions upon the globular body indicates almost
unbroken contact with the interior surface of the woven vessel. The neck
and rim have apparently received finishing touches by separately
impressing cords or narrow bands of some woven fabric.

Many examples show very irregular markings such as might have been
made by rolling the plastic vessel irregularly upon a woven surface, or
by molding it in an improvised sack made by tying up the margins of a
piece of cloth.

It is necessary to distinguish carefully the cord and fabric markings
from the stamped designs so common in southern pottery, as well as from
the incised designs, some of which imitate fabric markings very
closely.

I shall present at once a selection from the numerous examples of the
fabrics restored. For convenience of study I have arranged them in six
groups, some miscellaneous examples being added in a seventh group. For
comparison, a number of illustrations of both ancient and modern
textiles are presented.

In regard to methods of manufacture but little need be said. The

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appliances used have been extremely simple, the work in a vast majority
of cases having been done by hand. It is probable that in many instances
a simple frame has been used, the threads of the web or warp being fixed
at one end and those of the woof being carried through them by the
fingers or by a simple needle or shuttle. A loom with a device for
carrying the alternate threads of the warp back and forth may have been
used, but that form of fabric in which the threads are twisted in pairs
at each crossing of the woof could only have been made by hand.

The probable methods will be dwelt upon more in detail as the groups
are presented. In verifying the various methods of fabrication I have
been greatly assisted by Miss Kate C. Osgood, who has successfully
reproduced, in cotton cord, all the varieties discovered, all the
mechanism necessary being a number of pins set in a drawing board or
frame, in the form of three sides of a rectangle, the warp being fixed
at one end only and the woof passing back and forth between the lateral
rows of pins, as shown in Fig. 74.

FIRST GROUP.

Fig. 62 illustrates a small fragment of an ordinary coffee sack which
I take as a type of the first group. It is a loosely woven fabric of the
simplest construction; the two sets of threads being interwoven at right
angles to each other, alternate threads of one series passing over and
under each of the opposing series as shown in the section,
Fig. 63.

Fig. 62.—Type of Group one—portion of a coffee sack.	Fig. 63.—Section.

It is a remarkable fact that loosely woven examples of this kind of
cloth are rarely, if ever, found among the impressions upon clay or in
the fabrics themselves where preserved by the salts of copper or by
charring. The reason of this probably is that the combination is such
that when loosely woven the threads would not remain in place under
tension, and the twisted and knotted varieties were consequently
preferred.

It is possible that many of the very irregular impressions observed,
in which it is so difficult to trace the combinations of the threads,
are of distorted fabrics of this class.

This stuff may be woven by hand in a simple frame, or by any of the
primitive forms of the loom.

In most cases, so far as the impressions upon pottery show, when this
particular combination is employed, the warp is generally very heavy and
the woof comparatively light. This gives a cloth differing greatly from
the type in appearance; and when, as is usually the case, the woof
threads are beaten down tightly, obscuring those of the web, the
resemblance to the type is quite lost.

Examples of this kind of weaving may be obtained from the fictile
remains of nearly all the Atlantic States.

Fig. 64.—Fabric impressed upon ancient pottery, New York.

The specimen presented in Fig. 64 was obtained from a small fragment
of ancient pottery from the State of New York.

It is generally quite difficult to determine which set of threads is
the warp and which the woof. In most cases I have preferred to call the

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more closely placed threads the woof, as they are readily beaten down by
a baton, whereas it would be difficult to manipulate the warp threads if
so closely placed. In the specimen illustrated, only the tightly woven
threads of the woof appear. The impression is not sufficiently distinct
to show the exact character of the thread, but there are indications
that it has been twisted. The regularity and prominence of the ridges
indicate a strong, tightly drawn warp.

Fig. 65.—From a fragment of ancient pottery, District of Columbia.

Fig. 65 represents a form of this type of fabric very common in
impressions upon the pottery of the Middle Atlantic States. This
specimen was obtained from a small potsherd picked up near Washington,
D.C. The woof or cross-threads are small and uniform in thickness, and
pass alternately over and under the somewhat rigid fillets of the web.
The apparent rigidity of these fillets may result from the tightening of
the series when the fabric was applied to the plastic surface of the
vessel.

Fig. 66.—From a fragment of ancient Cliff-house pottery.

I present in Fig. 66 the only example of the impression of a woven
fabric found by the writer in two summers’ work among the remains of the
ancient Cliff-Dwellers. It was obtained from the banks of the San Juan
River, in southeastern Utah. It is probably the imprint of the interior

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surface of a more or less rigid basket, such as are to be seen among
many of the modern tribes of the Southwest. The character of the warp
cannot be determined, as the woof, which has been of moderately heavy
rushes or other untwisted, vegetable fillets, entirely
hides it.

The caves of Kentucky have furnished specimens of ancient weaving of
much interest. One of these, a small fragment of a mat apparently made
from the fiber of bark, or a fibrous rush, is illustrated in Fig.
67.

Fig. 67.—Fabric from a cave in Kentucky.

Fig. 68.—Fabric from Swiss Lake-Dwellings.

This simple combination of the web and woof has been employed by all
ancient weavers who have left us examples of their work. The specimen
given in Fig. 68 is the work of the ancient Lake-Dwellers

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of Switzerland. It is a mat plaited or woven of strips of bast, and was
found at Robenhausen, having been preserved in a charred state.2 Keller gives another example
of a similar fabric of much finer texture in Fig. 8, Pl. CXXXVI.

An illustration of this form of fabric is given by Foster,3 and reproduced in
Fig. 69.

Fig. 69.—Cloth from a mound, Ohio.	Fig. 70.—Cloth from a mound, Ohio.	Fig. 71.—Section.

In the same place this author presents another form of cloth shown in
my Fig. 70. In Fig. 71 we have a section of this fabric. These cloths,
with a number of other specimens, were taken from a mound on the west
side of the Great Miama River, Butler County, Ohio. The fabric in both
samples appears to be composed of some material allied to hemp. As his
remarks on these specimens, as well as on the general subject, are quite
interesting, I quote them somewhat at length.

“The separation between the fibre and the wood appears to have been as
thorough and effectual as at this day by the process of rotting and
hackling. The thread, though coarse, is uniform in size, and regularly
spun. Two modes of weaving are recognized: In one, by the alternate
intersection of the warp and woof, and in the other, the weft is wound
once around the warp, a process which could not be accomplished except
by hand. In the illustration the interstices have been enlarged to show
the method of weaving, but in the original the texture was about the
same as that in coarse sail-cloth. In some of the Butler County
specimens there is evidently a fringed border.”

In regard to the second specimen described, I would remark that it is
a very unusual form, no such combination of the parts having come to my
notice either in the ancient fabrics themselves or in the impressions on
pottery. In a very closely woven cloth it might be possible to employ
such a combination, each thread of the web being turned once around each
thread of the woof as shown in Fig. 71; but certainly it would work in a
very unsatisfactory manner in open fabrics. I would suggest that this
example may possibly belong to my second group, which, upon the surface,
would have a similar appearance. The combination of this form is shown
in the section, Fig. 73.

SECOND GROUP.

Fig. 72.—From ancient pottery, Tennessee.	Fig. 73.—Section.

It is not impossible, as previously stated, that open fabrics of the
plain type were avoided for the reason that the threads would not remain
in place if subjected to tension. A very ingenious method of fixing the
threads of open work, without resorting to the device of knotting has
been extensively employed in the manufacture of ancient textiles.

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The simplest form of cloth in which this combination is used is shown in
Fig. 72. This example, which was obtained from a small fragment of
pottery found in Polk County, Tennessee, may be taken as a type.

Two series of threads are interwoven at right angles, the warp series
being arranged in pairs and the woof singly. At each intersection the
pairs of warp threads are twisted half around upon themselves, inclosing
the woof threads and holding them quite firmly, so that the open mesh is
well preserved even when much strained. Fabrics of this character have
been employed by the ancient potters of a very extended region,
including nearly all the Atlantic States. There are also many varieties
of this form, of fabric resulting from differences in the size and
spacing of the threads. These differences are well brought out in the
series of illustrations that follow.

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In regard to the manufacture of this particular fabric, I am unable to
arrive at any very definite conclusion. As demonstrated by Miss Osgood,
it may be knitted by hand, the threads of the warp being fixed at one
end and the woof at both by wrapping about pegs set in a drawing board
or frame, as shown in the diagram, Fig. 74.

Fig. 74.—Diagram showing the method of weaving Form 2.

Fig. 75.—Theoretic device for working the twist.

The combination is extremely difficult to produce by mechanical
means, and must have been beyond the reach of any primitive loom. I have
prepared a diagram, Fig. 75, which, shows very clearly the arrangement
of threads, and illustrates a possible method of supporting the warp
while the woof is carried across. As each thread of the woof is laid in
place, the threads of the warp can be thrown to the opposite support, a
turn or half twist being made at each exchange. The work could be done
equally well by beginning at the top and working downward.

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For the sake of clearness I have drawn but one pair of the warp
threads.

Fig. 76 illustrates a characteristic example of this class obtained
from a fragment of pottery from the great mound at Sevierville,
Tenn.

Fig. 76.—From fragment of mound pottery, Tennessee.

The impression is quite perfect. The cords are somewhat uneven, and
seem to have been only moderately well twisted. They were probably made
of some vegetable fiber. It will be observed that the threads of the
woof are placed at regular intervals, while those of the web are
irregularly placed. It is interesting to notice that in one case the
warp has not been doubled, the single thread having, as a consequence,
exactly the same relation to the opposing series as corresponding
threads in the first form of fabric presented. The impression, of which
this is only a part, indicates that the cloth was considerably distorted
when applied to the soft clay. The slipping of one of the woof threads
is well shown in the upper part of the figure.

The fabric shown in Fig. 77 has been impressed upon an earthen vessel
from Macon, Ga. It has been very well and neatly formed, and all the
details of fiber, twist, and combination can be made out.

Fig. 77.—From ancient pottery, Georgia.

The example given in Fig. 78 differs from the preceding in the
spacing and pairing of the warp cords. It was obtained from a fragment
of ancient pottery recently collected at Reel Foot Lake, Tennessee.

Fig. 78.—From ancient pottery, Tennessee.

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Fig. 79 represents another interesting specimen from the pottery of the
same locality. The border is woven somewhat differently from the body of
the fabric, two threads of the woof being included in each loop of the
warp.

Fig. 79.—From ancient pottery, Tennessee.

Fig. 80.—From ancient pottery, Tennessee.

Fig. 80 is from the pottery of the same locality. The threads are
much more closely woven than those already given.

Fig. 81.—From a piece of clay, Arkansas.

The next example, Fig. 81, impressed upon a fragment of clay from
Arkansas, has been made of coarse, well-twisted cords. An ornamental
border has been produced by looping the cords of the woof, which seem to
have been five in number, each one passing over four others before
recrossing the warp.

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In no locality are so many fine impressions of textiles upon clay
vessels found as in the ancient salt-making districts of the Mississippi
Valley. The huge bowl or tub-like vessels used by the primitive
salt-makers have very generally been modeled in coarse nets, or
otherwise have had many varieties of netting impressed upon them for
ornament.

In the accompanying plate (XXXIX) two fine
examples of these impressions are given. They are somewhat more clearly
defined than the majority of those from which the other illustrations
are made.

Fig. 82 illustrates a specimen in which every detail is perfectly
preserved. Only a small portion of the original is shown in the cut. The
cords are heavy and well twisted, but the spacing is somewhat irregular.
I observe one interesting fact in regard to this impression. The fabric
has apparently been applied to the inverted vessel, as the loose cords
of the woof which run parallel with the rim droop or hang in festoons
between the cords of the warp as shown in the illustration, which is
here placed, as drawn from the inverted fragment. The inference to be
drawn from this fact is that the fabric was applied to the exterior of
the vessel, after it was completed and inverted, for the purpose of
enhancing its beauty. When we recollect, however, that these vessels
were probably built for service only, with thick walls and rude finish,
we are at a loss to see why so much pains should have been taken in
their embellishment. It seems highly probable that, generally, the
inspiring idea was one of utility, and that the fabric served in some
way as a support to the pliable clay, or that the network of shallow
impressions was supposed to act after the manner of a dégraissant
to neutralize the tendency to fracture.

Fig. 82.—From fragment of a large salt vessel, Saline River, Illinois.

Fig. 83.—From a salt vessel, Saline River, Illinois.

Another example from the same locality is shown in Fig. 83. This is
similar to that shown in the lower figure of Plate
XXXIX. It is very neatly woven of evenly spun and well-twisted
thread. The double series is widely spaced as shown in the drawing.

Fig. 84.—From ancient pottery, Missouri.

The very interesting specimen illustrated in Fig. 84 was obtained
from a small fragment of pottery found in Fort Ripley County,

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Missouri. The combination of the two series of threads or strands
clearly indicates the type of fabric under consideration, the twisted
cords of the warp being placed very far apart. The remarkable feature of
this example is the character of the woof, which seems to be a broad
braid formed by plaiting three strands of untwisted fiber, probably
bast. All the details are shown in the most satisfactory manner in the
clay cast.

Fig. 85.—From ancient pottery, Tennessee.

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The open character of the web in this specimen assists very much, in
explaining the structure of tightly-woven examples such as that shown in
Fig. 85, in which the cross cords are so closely placed that the broad
bands of the opposing series are completely hidden.

I have made the drawing to show fillets of fiber appearing at the
ends. These do not appear in the impression. It is highly probable,
however, that these fillets are plaited bands, as in the preceding
example. They are wide and flat, giving somewhat the effect of
basket-work of splints or of rushes. This specimen was obtained in
Carter County, Tennessee.

We have a few pieces of this variety of fabric which have been
preserved by contact with the salts of copper. Professor Farquharson
describes an example from a mound on the banks of the Mississippi River,
near the city of Davenport. It had been wrapped about a copper implement
resembling a celt, and was at the time of its recovery in a very perfect
state of preservation. In describing this cloth Mr. Farquharson says
that

“the warp is composed of four cords, that is, of two double and
twisted cords, and the woof of one such doubled and twisted
cord which passes between the two parts of the warp; the latter being
twisted at each change, allowing the cords to be brought close together
so as to cover the woof almost entirely.”

Fig. 86.—Fabric from a copper celt, Iowa.

His illustration

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is somewhat erroneous, the artist not having had quite a clear
understanding of the combination of threads. This cloth has a general
resemblance to ordinary coffee-sacking. In Fig. 86 I give an
illustration of this fabric derived from the opposite side of the
celt.

Although I am not quite positive, it is my opinion, after having
examined the specimen carefully, that the body of the cloth belongs to
my first group and that the border only is of the second group. My
section and drawing give a clear idea of the construction of this
fabric. A finely-preserved bit of cloth belonging to the group under
consideration was recently found fixed to the surface of a copper image
from one of the Etowah mounds in Georgia.

Fig. 87.—Modern work, Vancouver’s Island.

This form of weaving is very common among the productions of the
modern tribes of Western America. A very good example is shown in Fig.
87, which represents the border of a cape like garment made by the

413
Clyoquot Indians, of Vancouver’s Island. It is woven, apparently, of the
fiber of bark, both web and woof showing considerable diversity in the
size of the cords. The border has been strengthened by sewing in a
broad, thin fillet of rawhide.

The beautiful mats of the northwest coast peoples, from California to
Ounalaska, are often woven in this manner, the materials being bast,
grass, or rushes.

The Lake Dwellers of Switzerland seem to have made a great many
varieties of cloth of this type. I have reproduced four examples from
the great work of Dr. Keller. Fig. 88 is copied from his Fig. 1, Plate
CXXXV. It exhibits some variations from the type, double strips of bast
being bound by a woof consisting of alternate strips of bast and cords.
It is from Robenhausen.

Figs. 88 and 89.—Fabrics from the Lake Dwellings, Switzerland.

In Figs. 89 and 90 we have typical examples from the same locality.
The woof series seems to consist of untwisted strands of bast or
flax.

Fig. 90.—Fabric from the Lake Dwellings, Switzerland.

THIRD GROUP.

Fig. 91.—Section.

A third form of fabric is distinguished from the last by marked
peculiarities in the combinations of the threads. The threads of the
warp are arranged in pairs as in the last form described, but are
twisted in such a way as to inclose two of the opposing series instead
of one, each succeeding pair of warp threads taking up alternate pairs
of the woof threads, as shown in the section, Fig. 91. This is a very
interesting variety, and apparently one that would possess coherence and
elasticity of a very high order.

Fig. 92.—Theoretical device for weaving third group.

In Fig. 92 a simple scheme of plaiting or weaving this material is
suggested. It will be seen to differ from the last chiefly in the way in
which the woof is taken up by the warp.

The ancient pottery of the Mississippi Valley furnishes many examples
of this fabric. It is made of twisted cords and threads of sizes similar

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to those of the other work described, varying from the weight of
ordinary spool cotton to that of heavy twine. The mesh is generally
quite open.

Fig. 93.—From the ancient pottery of Tennessee.

In Fig. 93 we have a very well preserved example from Reelfoot Lake,
Tennessee. It was obtained from a large fragment of coarse pottery.
Other pieces are nearly twice as coarse, while some are much finer.

Figs. 94 and 95 are finer specimens from the same locality.

Fig. 94.	Fig. 95.
From the ancient pottery of Tennessee.

We have also good examples from Saline River, Illinois. They are
obtained from fragments of the gigantic salt vessels so plentiful in
that locality.

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The upper figure of Plate XXXIX illustrates one
of these specimens. Other examples hare been obtained from Roane County,
Tennessee.

A piece of charred cloth from a mound in Butler County, Ohio, has
been woven in this manner. Foster has described examples of the two
preceding forms from the same locality. The material used is a vegetable
fiber obtained from the bark of trees or from some fibrous weed. This
specimen is now in the National Museum.

Fig. 96.—From ancient pottery, Tennessee.

An interesting variety of this form is given in Fig. 96. It is from a
small piece of pottery exhumed from a mound on Fain’s Island, Jefferson
County, Tennessee. The threads of the woof are quite close together,
those of the web far apart.

A very fine example of this variety of fabric was obtained by Dr.
Tarrow from an ancient cemetery near Dos Pueblos, Cal. It is illustrated
in Fig. 2, Plate XIV, vol. VII, of Surveys West of the 100th Meridian.4 In describing it,
Professor Putnam says that the fiber is probably obtained from a species
of yucca. He says that

“the woof is made of two strands, crossing the warp in such a manner
that the strands alternate in passing, over and under it, and at the
same time inclosing two alternate strands, of the latter, making a
letter X figure of the warp, united at the center of the X by the double
strands of the woof.”

It should be noticed that the series of cords called the woof by
Professor Putnam are designated as warp in my own descriptions. The
illustration shows a fabric identical with that given in the upper
figure of Plate XXXIX, and the description quoted
describes perfectly the type of fabric under consideration.

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This method of weaving is still practiced by some of the western tribes,
as may be seen by a visit to the national collection.

A somewhat complicated arrangement of the threads may be seen in the
fabric shown in Fig. 97. It is clearly only a variation of the
combination just described. The manner in which the threads pass over,
under, and across each other can be more easily understood by reference
to the figure than by any description. It comes from one of the
Northwest coast tribes.

Fig. 97.—Modern fabric, Northwest coast.

FOURTH GROUP.

A fourth form of fabric, illustrated in Fig. 98, is of very rare
occurrence on our fictile remains.

Fig. 98.—Diagonal fabric, ancient pottery of Tennessee.

It is a very neatly woven diagonal from the ancient pottery of Polk
County, Tennessee. Two series of cords have been interwoven at right
angles to each other, but so arranged as to produce a diagonal pattern.
One series of the cords is fine and well twisted, the other coarser and
very slightly twisted.

The remarkable sample of matting shown in Fig. 99 is from a small
piece of pottery from Alabama. It has been worked in the diagonal

417
style, but is somewhat different from the last example. It has probably
been made of rushes or heavy blades of grass.

Fig. 99.—From the ancient pottery of Alabama.

Fig. 100.—From ancient pottery, Iowa.

The texture shown in Fig. 100 is from a rather indistinct impression
upon a small fragment of pottery from Iowa. One series of the strands
seems to have been quite rigid, while the other has been pliable, and
appear in the impression only where they have crossed the rigid series.
The dotted lines indicate their probable course on the under side of the
cross threads.

This form of fabric is very common in modern work.

FIFTH GROUP.

In Fig. 101 I present a variety of ancient fabric which has not to my
knowledge been found upon ceramic products. This specimen shows

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the method of plaiting sandals practiced by the ancient inhabitants of
Kentucky. Numbers of these very interesting relics have been obtained
from the great caves of that State. They are beautifully woven, and well
shaped to the foot.

The fiber has the appearance of bast and is plaited in untwisted
strands, after the manner shown in the illustration. Professor Putman
describes a number of cast-off sandals from Salt Cave, Kentucky, as
“neatly made of finely braided and twisted leaves of rushes.”5

Fig. 102 illustrates a somewhat similar method of plaiting
practiced by the Lake Dwellers of Switzerland, from one of Keller’s
figures.6

Fig. 101.—Plaiting of a sandal, Kentucky cave.	Fig. 102.—Braiding done by the Lake-Dwellers.

SIXTH GROUP.

The art of making nets of spun and twisted cords seems to have been
practiced by many of the ancient peoples of America. Beautiful examples
have been found in the huacas of the Incas and in the tombs of
the Aztecs. They were used by the prehistoric tribes of California and
the ancient inhabitants of Alaska. Nets were in use by the Indians of
Florida and Virginia at the time of the discovery, and the ancient
pottery of the Atlantic States has preserved impressions of a number of
varieties. It is possible that some of these impressions may be from
European nets, but we have plentiful historical proof that nets of hemp
were in use by the natives, and as all of this pottery is very old it is
probable that the impressions upon the fragments are from nets of native
manufacture.

Wyman states that nets or net impressions have not been found among
the antiquities of Tennessee. I have found, however, that the pottery of
Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland furnish examples of netting

419
in great numbers. In many cases the meshes have been distorted by
stretching and overlapping so that the fabric cannot be examined in
detail; in other cases the impressions have been so deep that casts
cannot be taken, and in a majority of cases the fragments are so decayed
that no details of the cords and their combinations can be
made out.

Fig. 103.—From ancient pottery, District of Columbia.

In Fig. 103 we have a thoroughly satisfactory restoration from a
small fragment of pottery picked up in the District of Columbia. It is
shown a little larger than natural size in the drawing. The impression
is so perfect that the twist of the cord and the form of the knot may be
seen with ease. Most of the examples from this locality are of much
finer cord and have a less open mesh than the specimen illustrated. It
is a noteworthy fact that in one of these specimens an incised pattern
has been added to the surface of the soft clay after the removal of the
net.

Fig. 104.—Net from the pottery of North Carolina.

Fig. 105.—Net from the pottery of North Carolina.

Recent collections from the mounds of Western North Carolina have
brought to light many examples of net-marked pottery. Generally the
impressions are quite obscure, but enough can be seen in the cast to

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show clearly the character of the fabric. The restoration given in Fig.
104 represents an average mesh, others being finer and others coarser.
Another specimen from the same collection is shown in Fig. 105. The
impression is not very distinct, bat there is an apparent doubling of
the cords, indicating a very unusual combination. It is possible that
this may have come from the imperfect imprinting, but I can detect no
indications of a shifting of the net upon the soft clay.

Many interesting examples could be given, both from the ancient and
modern work of the inhabitants of the Pacific coast, but for the present
I shall content myself by presenting a single example from the Lake
Dwellings of Switzerland (Fig. 106):

Fig. 106.—Net from the Swiss Lake Dwellings. Keller, plate, CXXX.

MISCELLANEOUS FORMS.

The forms of fabrics used by the ancient tribes of the Middle and
Northern Atlantic States in the manufacture and ornamentation of their
pottery have differed materially from those used in the South and West.
As a rule the fragments are smaller and the impressions less perfectly
preserved. The fabrics have been more complicated and less carefully
applied to the vessel. In many cases the impressions seem to have been
made from disconnected bands, belts, or strips of cloth. Single cords,

421
or cords arranged in groups by rolling on sticks, or by other
contrivances, have been extensively employed. Baskets have doubtless
been used, some of which have been woven, but others have apparently
been of bark or skin, with stitched designs of thread or quills. Some of
the impressions suggest the use of woven vessels or fabrics filled up
with clay or resin, so that the prominences only are imprinted, or
otherwise cloths may have been used in which raised figures were
worked.

Fig. 107 is obtained from a fragment of pottery from New Jersey. The
impressions are extremely puzzling, but are such as I imagine might be
made by the use of a basket, the meshes of which had been filled up with
clay or resin so that only the more prominent ridges or series of thongs
remain uncovered to give impressions upon the clay. But the threads or
thongs indicate a pliable net rather than a basket, and the appearance
of the horizontal threads at the ends of the series of raised stitches
suggests that possibly the material may have been bark or smooth cloth
with a heavy pattern stitched into it.

Fig. 107.—From the ancient pottery of New Jersey.

Very similar to the above is the example given in Fig. 108, also
derived from the pottery of New Jersey.

Fig. 108.—From the ancient pottery of New Jersey.

Fig. 109 illustrates an impression upon another fragment from the
same state. This impression may have been made by a piece of birch bark
or fine fabric with a pattern sewed into it with cords or quills.

Fig. 109.—From the ancient pottery of New Jersey.	Fig. 110.—From the ancient pottery of Pennsylvania.

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Fig. 110 illustrates an impression upon a large, well-made vase, with
scalloped rim, from Easton, Pa. The character of the fabric is difficult
to make out, the impression suggesting bead-work. That it is from a
fabric, however, is evident from the fact that there is system and
uniformity in the arrangement of markings, the indentations alternating
as in the impressions of fabrics of the simplest type. Yet there is an
appearance of patchwork in the impression that suggests separate
applications of the material.

In Figs. 111 and 112 we have what appear to be impressions of bands
or belts. The first shown consists of six parallel cords, coarse and
well twisted, with a border of short cord indentations placed at regular
intervals. This is a very usual form in all parts of the country, from
the Mandan towns of the Missouri to Florida. It is possible that the
cords may in this case have been separately impressed, but the example
given

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in Fig. 112 is undoubtedly from, a woven band or belt, the middle
portion of which seems to have been a closely-woven cloth, with a sort
of pattern produced by series of raised or knotted threads. The borders
consist of single longitudinal cord impressions with an edging of short
cord indentations placed at right angles to the belt.

Fig. 111.—From the ancient pottery of Ohio.

Fig. 112.—From the ancient pottery of New Jersey.

Similar to the last is the very effective decorative design impressed
upon a large fragment of pottery from Alabama, shown in Fig. 113. The

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peculiarity of this example is the use of plaited instead of twisted
cords. The work is neatly done and very effective. It seems to me almost
certain that single cords have been used. They have been so imprinted as
to form a zone, filled with groups of lines placed at various angles. An
ornamental border of short lines has been added, as in the examples
previously given.

Fig. 113.—From the ancient pottery of Alabama.

Two other examples of cord ornamentation, which may be duplicated
from the pottery of almost any of the Atlantic States, are presented in
Figs. 114 and 115, the first from a fragment of pottery from Charles
County, Maryland, and the other from the pottery of Alabama.

Fig. 114.—Cord-markings from ancient pottery of Maryland.

Fig. 115.—Cord-markings from ancient pottery of Alabama.

It will readily be seen that it is extremely difficult to draw a line
between an ornamentation produced by the use of single or grouped cords
and that made by the use of fabrics.

It is not less difficult to say just how much of this use of cords
and fabrics is to be attributed to manufacture simply and how much to
ornament.

Although the restorations here presented certainly throw considerable
light upon the textile fabrics of the ancient inhabitants of the

425
Atlantic States, it cannot be affirmed that anything like a complete
idea of their fabrics has been gained. Impressions upon pottery
represent a class of work utilized in the fictile arts. We cannot say
what other fabrics were produced and used for other purposes.

However this may be, attention should be called to the fact that the
work described, though varied and ingenious, exhibits no characters in
execution or design not wholly consonant with the art of a stone-age
people. There is nothing superior to or specifically different from the
work of our modern Indians.

The origin of the use of fabrics and of separate cords in the
ornamentation of pottery is very obscure. Baskets and nets were
doubtless in use by many tribes throughout their pottery making period.
The shaping of earthen vessels in or upon baskets either of plain bark
or of woven splints or of fiber must frequently have occurred. The
peculiar impressions left upon the clay probably came in time to be
regarded as ornamental, and were applied for purposes of embellishment
alone. Decorative art has thus been enriched by many elements of beauty.
These now survive in incised, stamped, and painted designs. The forms as
well as the ornamentation of clay vessels very naturally preserve traces
of the former intimacy of the two arts.

Since the stereotyping of these pages I have come upon a short paper
by George E. Sellers (Popular Science Monthly, Vol. XI, p. 573), in
which is given what I believe to be a correct view of the use of nets
in the manufacture of the large salt vessels referred to on pages
398 and 409. The use
of interior conical moulds of indurated clay makes clear the reasons for
the reversed festooning of the cords to which I called attention.

FOOTNOTES

INDEX