36 PREHISTORIC TEXTILE ART. [eth.ann.13 



what open and net-like, and very often the pairs of twined woof strands 

 are pUxced far apart, as shown in several of the illustrations given in 

 this paper. The finest mesh observed is in the first of these styles, 

 and includes about twenty intersections to the inch. 



From the Ohio mounds also there are examples of iilain as well as 

 of diagonal interlacing. In appearance the cloth is much the same as 

 that done in the twined style. In a few cases a border or selvage of 

 very simple construction is seen. A looped margin for the passage of 

 a gathering cord is common. 



In plate vi a number of bits of charred cloth are shown ; being quite 

 black the camera fails to give them with clearness, but the drawings 

 presented in plate vii serve to make clear all details of the strands and 

 their combination. The charring has taken place in cremating the 

 dead, in the burning of ofi'erings or through accidental subjection to 

 heat. In some cases very considerable portions of the cloth are found, 

 but it is usually in a very fragile state and little has been preserved. 



Specimens preserved in this way are obtained from a large area, 

 including the Ohio and a large portion of the Mississippi valleys. 



Fabkics Pre.served by Contact with Copper. 



The preservation of woven textures through association in burials 

 with implements or other articles of copper is of common occurrence. 

 Our museums contain manj' examples of copper celts retaining on their 

 surfaces portions of cloth so well preserved that 

 the fibers retain much of their original strength 

 as well as color. In plate vixi three examples are 

 shown from a mound near Davenport, Iowa, and 

 a fourth from a mound near Savannah, Georgia. 

 The fabrics on a and h are of the twined style 

 and, although occurring 800 miles apart, are 

 identical in every respect. The cloth on c is 

 very closely woven and has the appearance of 

 simple interlacing. The finest piece of work 

 that has come to my notice is a bit of cloth from 

 a mound in Pike county, Ohio. It has from 

 Fm. io._Fini, ,i..sciy wc.ven tlurty-five to forty strands to the iuch. aud looks 



clolh pre.servetl by contact .,. , -, -r • 



with copper beads. much like coarsc twiUed goods. It IS wovenin 



the twined style, however, and is therefore of native origin. It was 

 preserved by contact with a large number of copper beads, four of which 

 are shown in the cut, figure 10. 



Traces of basketry are rarely preserved either by charring or by con- 

 tact with copper. Matting is occasionally preserved in these ways. 

 Figure 11 illustrates a piece of rush matting found fixed to the surface 

 of a bit of copi)er in a mound near Augusta, Georgia. 



The weaving of the hair of many species of quadrupeds, the buffalo, 

 the oi)Ossuni, the rabbit, etc., is noted by a number of authors, and a few 



