NO. 7 ARCHEOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN TEXAS ROBERTS 5 



Mention has been made of headdresses fashioned from the split 

 stems of the yucca. Several triangular shaped objects were found in 

 some of the caves by Mr. Stafford and Mr. Anderson which may well 

 have been the framework for such headdresses. They were constructed 

 from two long pieces and a series of short ones placed cross-wise (fig. 

 4). The short cross pieces were fastened to the longer ones by means 

 of cord made from tightly twisted yucca fiber. The holes through which 

 the cord passed were drilled. In some cases the material was painted 

 red on one side and the other side was covered with pitch, possibly 



Fig. 3. — Conventionalized geometric figure painted on the wall of a cave. 



for the attachment of down or feathers ; other examples show that 

 the red pigment was applied to both sides. Some of these triangular 

 frames measured 8 inches wide and i8 inches long while others were 

 as much as 2 feet wide at the base and 3 feet long. They would have 

 served admirably, because of their extremely light weight, as a base 

 for a pyramidal or fan-shaped headdress. 



Two kinds of sandals appear in the collections from these caves. 

 The predominant style is not common in the better known portions of 

 the Southwest, whereas the other form is fairly well represented in 

 collections from various sites (pi. 2). Both were made from the 

 ever-useful yucca leaves woven in a wickerwork technique. The 



