Perishable Artifacts Research Articles

Dating Perishables to Refine the Chronology of Shrine Cave Use, the Goggle-eye Motif, and other Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon Iconography

Professional and avocational archaeologists have recovered thousands of perishable artifacts from caves and rockshelters across the southern US Southwest, but few have been radiocarbon dated. This article reviews thirty AMS radiocarbon dates obtained on perishable items from nine shrine caves in the Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon regions of south-central New Mexico and west Texas. Dates were obtained from fragments of tablitas, effigies, prayer sticks, projectile point foreshafts, and flat curved sticks. Several convey iconographic elements of the Jornada Style of rock art while others are implements and weapons, but all were deposited in shrine caves. Problems inherent in the dating of shrine cave deposits and perishable artifacts are reviewed and technical matters involving contamination, curation, context, and sample materials are discussed. Analysis reveals several significant trends, one of the most salient being that the Goggle-eye motif, a signature element of Jornada and Mimbres iconography, has greater antiquity than previously assumed.

Ice Patches and Obsidian Quarries: Integrating Research Through Collaborative Archaeology in Tahltan Territory

ABSTRACT This article presents the results of archaeological survey of ice patches in the vicinity of the vast obsidian quarries and artifact scatters found near Goat Mountain and the Kitsu Plateau in Mount Edziza Provincial Park, Tahltan Territory. During the survey, over 50 perishable artifacts were found, including stitched birch bark containers, wooden walking staffs, carved and beveled sticks, an atlatl dart foreshaft, and a stitched hide boot. Radiocarbon ages on 13 of the perishable artifacts reveal that they span the last 7000 years. These finds were made against a massive and stunning backdrop of scattered obsidian artifacts: bifaces, cores, flakes, and raw material nodules. This project collaborated with the Obsidian Discoveries Tahltan Tene Mehodihi Youth Group Hike and the “Our Ancestors’ Trail” museum exhibition. This collaboration resulted in connections between the archaeological results presented here, community learning, and artistic inspiration.

The earliest basketry in southern Europe: Hunter-gatherer and farmer plant-based technology in Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol).

Plant material culture can offer unique insights into the ways of life of prehistoric societies; however, its perishable nature has prevented a thorough understanding of its diverse and complex uses. Sites with exceptional preservation of organic materials provide a unique opportunity for further research. The burial site of Cueva de los Murciélagos in southern Iberia, uncovered during 19th-century mining activities, contained the best-preserved hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe, together with other unique organic artifacts associated with the first farming communities, such as sandals and a wooden hammer. We present 14 14C dates for the perishable artifacts (N = 76), situating the assemblage between the Early and Middle Holocene (c. 7500 to 4200 cal BCE). Our integrated analysis includes raw material determination and technological and chrono-cultural contextualization of this unique and important set of materials.

Don’t fence them in: comment on “perishable artifacts from Last Canyon Cave, Montana”

Don’t fence them in: comment on “perishable artifacts from Last Canyon Cave, Montana”

Basketry, cordage, and perishable artifact manufacture at Bonneville Estates Rockshelter: Diachronic technological variation

As a technologically-complex material class, perishable artifacts have the potential to address a multitude of socio-economic activities and behaviors; however, their application to these subjects are limited by poor preservation and small sample sizes. This study presents a novel approach to analysis that incorporates the chaîne opératoire of basketry and cordage, demonstrating the efficacy of applying statistics to characterize technological organization. To illustrate the utility of this approach, this study provides a diachronic analysis of basketry, cordage, and related manufacturing waste from Bonneville Estates Rockshelter (BER), a multi-layered “dry cave” archaeological site in the eastern Great Basin dating from the late Pleistocene through the Holocene. The relationship between people and the environment as well as social interaction among hunter-gatherers are addressed by considering the timing, changes, and seasonality of perishables at BER. Changes in basketry manufacture and the importance of net hunting throughout the Holocene emphasize temporal variation in community participation in subsistence activities. Debris from textile production demonstrates that BER also functioned as a multi-seasonal manufacturing and repair site. By comparing functional and technological-stylistic attributes, this study characterizes the complex ways gender influenced the manufacture and use of a material class traditionally associated with feminine work in hunter-gatherer communities.

Prehispanic Highland Textile Technologies: A View from the First Millennium AD at Hualcayán, Ancash, Peru

The exceptional preservation of perishable artifacts on the arid west coast of the Andes has led to an abundance of knowledge on prehispanic textile production. Yet comparatively little of this knowledge is based on highland examples due to their poor preservation in the moist environment of the Andean sierra. Systematic excavations in 2011–2012 at the archaeological complex of Hualcayán in highland Ancash, Peru, revealed surprisingly well-preserved textiles and cordage from four partially looted machay-style tombs. In this article we provide an overview of textile forms, production techniques, and iconography from a sample of 292 textile and cordage fragments, equaling 20% of Hualcayán's assemblage. This work contributes to a better understanding of ancient Andean weaving in general and interregional interaction during the Early Intermediate period and Middle Horizon (ca. AD 1–1000) in particular. Significantly, we document variability in cotton yarn and a general uniformity in camelid yarn and weaving techniques in the overall sample. These findings, in combination with similarities in weaving techniques and style between coastal examples and Hualcayán's fabrics, suggest a coastal–highland relationship.

Perishable artifacts from Last Canyon Cave, Montana

Perishable artifacts are rare finds in the Northwest Plains and the adjacent Rocky Mountains and any addition to the inventory makes a significant contribution. In the case of perishable objects from Last Canyon Cave in southern Montana, this is particularly true as one of the objects is unique to the region, a sandal. In this paper we describe the two items from Last Canyon, discuss their regional occurrence, and suggest the origin of the technology outside of the Northwest Plains/Rocky Mountains

Recent Analyses of Fibre Perishables from Promontory Caves, UT

Recent analyses of the Promontory Caves assemblages by Ives and colleagues (Billinger and Ives 2015; Hallson 2017; Ives 2014; Ives et al. 2014; Reilly 2015) have renewed interest in Julian Steward’s (1937) hypothesis that the thirteenth century inhabitants of the Promontory Caves have ties to Northern Dene language-speakers, thus shedding new light on Dene migration and Apachean origins. These studies have largely focused on the similarities between Northern Dene and Promontory moccasins, but other artifact classes—namely fibre perishables—have yet to be examined. This paper synthesizes conclusions drawn from the author’s prior research into matting and cordage recovered from the Promontory Caves in comparison to a neighboring Fremont cordage assemblage from the site of Lakeside Cave, with some suggestive differences emerging from material, structure, and knot types. These preliminary results suggest avenues for future comparative analyses of the Promontory perishable artifacts.

Cestos enterrados no Vale do Peruaçu

A rara preservação de artefatos trançados de fibras vegetais em sítios arqueológicos brasileiros resulta em um conhecimento restrito acerca desses materiais na pré-história. No vale do Peruaçu, Minas Gerais, os sítios Lapa do Boquete, Abrigo do Malhador, Lapa da Hora e Lapa do Caboclo apresentaram tais materiais excepcionalmente preservados, geralmente associados a depósitos de vegetais ou sepultamentos do Holoceno tardio. Apresentamos neste trabalho a coleção de artefatos trançados e têxteis de fibras vegetais do vale do Peruaçu sob a ótica do sistema classificatório de Berta Ribeiro (RIBEIRO, 1980, 1985, 1986b), explorando a maneira como esses artefatos foram depositados em seus respectivos contextos e chamando atenção para a importância e diversidade de artefatos perecíveis utilizados pelos grupos horticultores que ocuparam essa região.

A survey of plant and insect exudates in the archaeology of Arizona

The Arizona State Museum has more than 30,000 archaeological perishable artifacts. A large scale inventory of this collection led to an analytical survey to identify the indigenous adhesives that are present in these objects. Adhesive samples from 64 objects that covered 31 different archaeological sites and encompassed every major cultural tradition in Arizona were analyzed with attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The study found that Pinaceae exudates and insect lac were the primary adhesive materials. Insect lac was the predominant adhesive used by the Hohokam, and both pine resin and insect lac were found in artifacts from the Mogollon and Ancestral Pueblo. Because insect lac is produced by insects (Tachardiella spp.) endemic to the desert lowlands, this indicates exchange of insect lac throughout the cultural regions of Arizona. This study illustrates the value of addressing a collection as a whole to increase understanding of prehistoric material culture and fabrication technology.

The Magician of Ridge Ruin: Insights into Ceremony and Status from Arrow Points and Bows

Stone tools and the perishable artifacts of which they are often components can be used to express complex social and ritual messages. A detailed analysis of projectile points, arrow shafts, and painted miniature bows from the burial of the so-called “Magician” of Ridge Ruin demonstrates the power of specific burial analyses to reconstruct the ritual and social context of a funeral ceremony. The Magician, an adult Sinagua male buried with ceremonial paraphernalia and other rare items, perhaps the richest burial ever discovered in the Puebloan Southwest, has been central to social interpretations of the region. Among unique aspects of the burial were a deposit of painted miniature bows and an assemblage of 434 projectile points, which have not been fully described before. These objects were deposited in the terminal phases of a complex mortuary ceremony by a large number of individuals, possibly members of a warrior sodality. In the broader context of the entire burial, the analysis reinforces a model of social heterarchy in which the Magician was especially important because he simultaneously obtained status and authority from several domains.

Phytoliths reveal the earliest fine reedy textile in China at the Tianluoshan site.

Textiles are among the longest and most widespread technologies in human history, although poor preservation of perishable artifacts in Paleolithic and Neolithic contexts makes them difficult to unearth and has hampered study of their production and use. Here we report evidence of a plain-woven mat from the Tianluoshan site, Zhejiang, Eastern China. Phytolith and AMS dating from the mat and modern reference collections shown that the mat was made of reeds (Phragmites australis (Cav.)) and dated to 6775–6645 cal. yr. BP. This is the earliest directly dated fiber artifact so far known in China, over at least one thousand years earlier than any established dates for woven remains elsewhere. The evidence of the mat and other related remains suggest that textile products might occur earlier than 7000–8000 years ago and are significant for understanding the history of textiles, as well as production and human adaptation in Neolithic China.

From The Editor: The Prehistoric Perishable Fiber Artifacts Issue

From The Editor: The Prehistoric Perishable Fiber Artifacts Issue

Radiocarbon analyses of four perishable artifacts from Ghost and Pictograph caves, Montana

Pictograph and Ghost caves in Empty Gulch, Montana, yielded an extensive collection of perishable items during Works Progress Administration excavations in the late 1930s. Recent radiocarbon analyses of four perishable artifacts from both caves yielded Late Prehistoric period dates. The dated coiled basketry from Ghost Cave indicates either direct or intermediary trade with Northeastern Great Basin or Fremont groups or an ancient and widespread basketry tradition that is poorly documented on the Northwestern Plains. Perishable artifacts are rarely preserved in archaeological contexts on the Plains and broaden our understanding of Late Prehistoric period hunters and gatherers.

CHACOAN IMMIGRATION OR LOCAL EMULATION OF THE CHACOAN SYSTEM? THE EMERGENCE OF AZTEC, SALMON, AND OTHER GREAT HOUSE COMMUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE SAN JUAN

Together with its partners, the Center for Desert Archaeology has recently completed research on a National Science Foundation–funded project entitled Chacoan Expansion or Emulation of the Chacoan System? The Emergence of Aztec, Salmon, and Other Great House Communities in the Middle San Juan. Project team members investigated Chacoan influence and presence in the Middle San Juan region through exploration and analysis of architecture, settlement patterns, and ceramic and perishable artifacts. Team members made use of specific methodologies to distinguish between low- and high-visibility attributes. These attributes, in turn, allowed for probable determinations of Chacoan or local origin for great houses, architecture at various sites, and various classes of material culture on Middle San Juan sites. This paper introduces the project and lays a roadmap for the collection of papers that follows.

PERISHABLE RITUAL ARTIFACTS AT THE WEST RUIN OF AZTEC, NEW MEXICO: EVIDENCE FOR A CHACOAN MIGRATION

Recent research with the perishable collections from Chaco Canyon and the West Ruin of Aztec has identified a wide range of wood, basketry, and fiber artifacts that probably served as ritual paraphernalia within these communities. In this article, I describe some of these perishable artifacts, their spatial patterning, and their close association with probable ritual storerooms. Employing the concept of technological style, I use similarities in artifact styles and the low-visibility attributes of artifact manufacture to argue for a migration of religious specialists and the transfer of ritual knowledge from Chaco to Aztec during the early twelfth century.

Invisible Culture: The Use of Soft X-ray Radiography in Perishable Research

Analysis of perishable artifacts has at times been hampered by our inability to “see inside” an item to examine internal construction and attribute characteristics. Early researchers sometimes resorted to dissection to determine construction sequences and to view interior elements, but this practice is destructive and currently avoided. In this article, I discuss the use of soft X-ray radiography (using medical X-ray units designed for mammography) to analyze perishable artifacts. Case studies from the North American Great Basin and Southwest demonstrate the utility of this technique as effective, nondestructive, and inexpensive.

SYMMETRY AND COLOR PERSPECTIVES ON BASKETMAKER CULTURAL IDENTITIES: EVIDENCE FROM DESIGNS ON COILED BASKETS AND CERAMICS

Basketmaker basket designs have long been considered the model for the earliest black-on-white ceramic designs in the northern Southwest. This article explores this premise from the perspective of symmetry analysis. We compare the design systems used to decorate Basketmaker baskets and ceramic bowls, and conclude that although some elements are shared, Basketmaker III basket weavers and potters used different symmetrical layouts to decorate their baskets and ceramic containers. We suggest that some of the more elaborate and complex symmetries found on late Basketmaker baskets and other perishable artifacts might have extraregional sources south of the Four Corners region.

Corn, Cucurbits, Cordage, and Colonization: An Absolute Chronology for the Appearance of Mesoamerican Domesticates and Perishables in the Jornada Basin, New Mexico

Detailed attribute analysis of basketry and cordage remains from Pendejo Cave and the region encompassed by the Jornada Basin in south-central New Mexico has suggested that the introduction of non-local cultigens in the study area is signaled by the simultaneous and not unrelated appearance of bundle foundation coiling, twill plaiting, and final S twist cordage of north Mexican origin or affiliation. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates of selected allochthonous perishable fiber artifacts from Pendejo Cave are presented and evaluated in terms of the local chronology of coiling, plaiting, and cordage types, their association with the adoption of cultigens, as evidence of material culture change via migration and hybridization, as well as their role in the onset of the Formative in the Jornada Basin.

Beyond cloth and cordage: archaeological textile research in the Americas

In recent years, archaeological textile research has undergone a major expansion in scope. Once primarily concerned with the simple description of fabrics, basketry, and cordage, textile researchers now routinely employ these highly perishable artifacts as windows into ancient cultural systems, using theoretical modeling, stylistic and structural analysis, and cutting-edge analytical technology to explore issues of production, exchange, ethnic identity, and social status.Beyond Cloth and Cordage is an overview of current research on New World archaeological fabrics. It demonstrates that textile data is a unique means of addressing questions of broad anthropological interest, as well as problems difficult if not impossible to resolve by other means. Contributing authors include senior experts and others whose work is breaking new ground in a variety of topics. Encompassing both method and theory, these include the recovery and care of textile remains, microanalytical methods, models of production and exchange, and inferences regarding social status, behavior, and ethnicity. The broad geographical scope includes case studies from northeastern North America, the Great Basin, the American Southwest, Mesoamerica, and Andean South America.