176 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 182 



other Gulf states to suggest a former practice there of the archaic art and a 

 development from it. 



Textile markings" found on potteiy are of five classes: First, impressions 

 from the surface of rigid forms, such as baskets. Second, impressions of 

 fabrics of a pliable nature, such as cloths and nets. Third, impressions from 

 woven textures used over the hand or over some suitable modeling implement. 

 Fourth, impressions of cords wrapped about modeling paddles or rocking tools. 

 Fifth, impressions of bits of cords or other textile units, singly or in groups, 

 applied for ornament only and so arranged as to give textile-like patterns. In 

 addition, we have a large class of impressions and markings in which textile 

 effects are mechanically imitated [Holmes, 1903, pp. 67-68]. 



As indicated earlier, Y7.2 percent of all sherd material is textile 

 impressed. These impressions vary in form, denoting that the ab- 

 origines made use of various techniques in creating such textiles. 

 Since it is impossible to determine the kind and nature of the fibers 

 used, the next question is the type of loom used, if there was one, and 

 the teclmiques employed to produce the various textiles. 



A number of early travelers and pioneer ethnographers have 

 described the art of weaving as they found it among the aborigines, 

 but for the most part with indifferent success. A common opinion 

 that weaving is an outgrowth and elaboration of basketmaking is based 

 on the continuous distribution of this industry from the Arctic to the 

 tip of South America in the New World, as well as in adjoining parts 

 of Asia. It has been suggested that the art of weaving in the New 

 World may have emerged from Asiatic sources, but this has never 

 been proved. 



An early drawing shows a Virginia Indian woman holding the loose 

 ends of a primitive loom in her left hand and manipulating the 

 elements with her right to create a narrow banded fillet. In this 

 drawing neither shuttle, shedding devices, nor batten board are indi- 

 cated. These omissions indicate that a type of "finger weaving" was 

 in progress. Contrary to Wissler (1922, pp. 55-56) , who says that in 

 finger weaving the 



warp threads are hung loosely from a horizontal support and the fabric built 

 from the top, the weft being pushed upward into place. ... In downward 

 weaving there are neither batten nor shedding devices, the fingers taking their 

 place, though a bodkin or other pointed instrument may be used to force the 

 weft into po.sition. 



10 "The few investigators who have attempted the description of textiles in their 

 archaeological reports have encountered a lack of standardization of technical terms. 

 Various specialists, in approaching the problem of typology, have either closely delimited 

 their fields, attempted their systematization on superficial similarities, or mixed their 

 determining elements. Thus, there is excellent work in basketry and loom work, but 

 conflicts where the authorities' considerations overlap. 'Wrapped Twining' had different 

 connotations for Mason and Amsden, and a single technique is designated as 'twilled 

 twining,' 'diagonal twining,' 'twined openwork,' and 'zagzag twining.' Kissel groups 'coil 

 without foundation' as a 'coiling' technique, while Mason and Amsden recognize it as a 

 separate class of techniques, called 'looping.' Davidson used the term 'knotless netting' 

 to refer to the same weave. Frequently classifications, developed on the basis of the 

 manner of combination of the weaving elements, include 'wlckerwork,' which Is defined 

 by tlie type of material making up the elements" (Miner, 1936, p. 183). 



