ABORIGINAL AMERICAN BASKETRY. 505 



(Mnbodiecl the s3Mnbols of an intricate ritual, in all oi-ades of symbolism 

 from the pictograph to the mere conventional mathematical scene 

 Both, however, represent the same ideas. Lender the influence of 

 ti-ade the ancient patterns are really mosaics and could ])o picked out. 

 It will be easily seen that the figures on th(> l)ack and fi-ont do not 

 exactly conform, the corresponding square on the back being always 

 one space to the right or left of the same in front. 



Attention is called at this point to the ornamental l)eginning of the 

 wicker plaque, or sacred meal baskets. In the chapter on structure 

 attention is directed to the methods of holding the central warp stems 

 together before bending them apart radially. Two methods are 

 resorted to. On one, half a dozen or more stems are laid side by side 

 and wrapped together by a process shown in fig. 38, after Miss 

 White. The same number of stems are similarly joined and laid 

 under this at right angles, the whole twelve being bound together by 

 one or two rows of wicker weaving. From this central point the 

 twelve or more wrapped stems are bent apart at equal distances and 

 the regular wicker weaving proceeds. At a certain distance outward 

 new warp stems are added between each pair of those already in use, 

 and from this circle the weaving proceeds to the margin. 



With the same number of warp stems quite a different process is 

 sometimes employed, by which the two sets of the upper and lower 

 are held together in pairs by wicker weaving, and at an inch from the 

 center the whole series are bound together as before and widening and 

 weaving proceed in the same manner. 



Fig. IIH) is a coarse wicker tray of the Hopi Indians of northeastern 

 Arizona, and is introduced for the purpose of illustrating the method 

 in which the nuich finer work on the sacred meal trays is done. Here 

 may be seen the plan of starting out with a few stems crossing each 

 other at right angles for warp; the method of hiding the large end of 

 the weft stems to ])ecome a portion of the warp, and the method of 

 adding new warp stems as they are needed. Fspecial attention is 

 called to the way in which several stems for weft are introduced at the 

 same time and worked along in sets or series. The common method 

 of working out the twill would be to introduce a weft stem, carry it 

 as far as it would go, and th(>n insert a ncnv weft stem, but in this 

 cas(» the series of half a dozen stems are all worked at the same time. 

 (V)mpare description of a Mexican wicker basket, on page 527. 



The modern twilled basketry is as rough as it can be. The same is 

 true of the fiat mats used about their dwellings; in fact, the mat and 

 the basket are identical in weaving. The ])asket is formed hy bending 

 the mat over the edge of a hoop and sewing down with a row of 

 twined weaving. 



Plate 217, from a photograph tho gift of G. Wharton James, repre- 

 sents an ancient basket maker of Oraibi. The picture is interesting 

 bevond the mere twilled baslvcf which she holds in hov hand in the act 



