BOAS] DESIGN FIELDS 233 
Aside from the Lillooet type of two-field decoration mentioned 
above and the single or double unimbricated background field bearing 
imbricated designs, there are among modern Thompson baskets speci- 
mens showing the imbrication of background on the upper half of the 
surface with mixed designs in both fields; there are also entirely imbri- 
cated baskets bearing classic or modern figures set ‘‘all-over’’ fashion 
in a white background. (Pl. 23, 6.) These are frequently made as 
gifts. 
The fact that the informants in discussing old styles began with 
the division into fields is probably merely an indication that this 
type differs from the ordinary modern forms and that it is striking. 
They can not now trace its origin, but recognize its similarity to 
Lillooet and Chilcotin arrangements. Like all people, they are 
inclined to ascribe the invention of cultural forms common to them- 
selves and to their neighbors to their own creativeness. 
As remarked before, the baskets of the Thompson, Lillooet, and 
Chilcotin may be distinguished not only by the arrangement of the 
designs but also by various technical features. Thompson coils are 
finer than those of the Lillooet and very uniform in construction. 
In burden baskets the coils of both tribes are of nearly the same tex- 
ture, but the sewing splints of the former are finer and the diameter 
of the coils smaller. The wall construction among the two tribes is 
alike, for both can build perfectly smooth straight walls, without 
bumps or any unevenness, vertically or horizontally. The shapes, 
however, are different, the walls of Thompson baskets being drawn 
in more nearly to a vertical direction than the Lillooet, which flare 
unrestrictedly to the rim. Thompson baskets stand on broader 
bases and present a less angular appearance, the corners being fairly 
rounded even in their most angular specimens.” As stated before, 
the division of the basket surface into two decorative fields, and 
also the presence of beading in place of imbrication in the upper 
section on one or two faces of the basket, is characteristic of the 
Lillooet style. It is instructive to observe, where similar decoration 
of field is concerned, the differences between the two tribes as shown 
in Plate 24, g, a Thompson, and Plates 24, e, and 76, Lillooet baskets. 
The baskets of the Chilcotin are characterized by remarkably fine 
stitching, accurately bifurcated splints, uneven coils, bumpy walls, 
and a rim which is higher at the ends than in the center of the sides. 
The types found in the collections which we have studied do not 
wholly agree with the descriptions given by the Indians. <A great 
many old baskets have entirely unimbricated backgrounds bearing 
simple beaded or imbricated horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines 
or small figures. 
The lines are usually quite narrow, the horizontal commonly 
consisting of one coil beaded or imbricated, the diagonal or vertical 
being composed of series of two or three imbricated or beaded 
40 See also p. 222. 
