The art of weaving has been a time honored tradition that
can trace their origins back 5000 years to early Roman and Egyptian Empires.
These same techniques of incorporating reeds, woods strips, wicker and other
dried binding materials have created a usable apparatus for gathering and
collecting necessary food and water sources from the river’s edge to the fire
side for meal preparation.
The Hand-woven
Baskets have played an integral part in the day to day life of early indigenous
people. The women of the clan were
innovators while the husbands were away hunting and protecting the tribe. Over
time, these women utilized natural resources such as peach pulp, clay and Pinon
pitch in order to form a seal on the insides of these baskets. Once completed,
these baskets changed the dynamics of meal preparations.
Using a well
prepared fire and having a sealed basket on hand early innovators would place
rounded stones into the fire and later place them inside the basket creating a
small boil for the water. This provided the Native Nations the ability to enjoy
hot soup as well as provide an alternative for meals.
(link to stone boiling in basket)
The Native
American Nations within Arizona and New Mexico applied primitive techniques
which allowed them to become a foremost expert in the application of kneaded
clay to the baskets providing a new innovation for pottery. These baskets could
be applied to an open fire and replace in some cases the need for basket. Other
apparatuses used for water transportation utilizing bladders. However, a large
clay vase would become a go-to item for large quantities. The clay’s
application to fire presented the ability to harden and become an item that
could free stand next to an open flame and boil water if need ever arose.
The arrival of
pottery brought new traditions of artwork and expression. Alongside its woven
counterpart, the clay pottery of the Native Nations was also seen as a symbol
of expression. Although many Native traditions are kept close hold within their
customary groups many believe their decorative appeal has a spiritual tie into
all of the earthly items.
Indians.org. “Native
American pottery.” Indians.org. 2014. Web. 1 Aug 2014.
Kstrom.net. “Utility
baskets for traditional daily life.” N.p. 1996. Web. 1 Aug 2014.
Nativeamericanencyclopedia.com. “The pottery of native Americans.” Native American Encyclopedia.
2014. Web. 1 Aug 2014.
Tribaldirectory.com “Native
American pottery.” WordPress. 2014. Web. 1 Aug 2014
There was an exhibit, titled "Woven Identities" at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in New Mexico, that ran until February 23, 2014. It showed that each basket had an identity.The identity of each basket could be realized—where it was made; when it was made; who made it; who it was made for; why it was made—by “reading” its individual characteristics. The exhibit explained that to read a basket five principal traits must be taken into account: material, construction, form and design, and utility. The weavers’ ancestral lands are in six culture areas of Western North America: The Southwest, Great Basin, Plateau, California, the Northwest Coast, and the Arctic. This is truly a passion, to find out the answers to these puzzles.
ReplyDelete1. http://www.miaclab.org/current&eventID=1249
2. http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/08/09/baskets-tell-story-santa-fe-museum-127933
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post. I enjoyed the video that you linked to. It's amazing how resourceful the Native people were or any indigenous people for that matter. Watching this I can't help be think of all of these natural survival shoes that are on TV, those shows were the first to expose me to dropping hot rocks into water for purification. As far as the baskets, it wasn't clear to me how they could seal up the baskets to not only hold water, but hot- boiling water at that! Thanks for the post, now I know!
ReplyDeleteI thought your post was wonderful it was very informative in regards to how the baskets were created and used. I enjoyed reading it and being educated by it. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog, it really helped bring the information to life for me and made it much easier to understand. I especially enjoyed to video you shared. I have to agree with Holly, it must have taken some trial and error but how creative the invention to help the Native to enjoy food that needs to be boiled before eating.
ReplyDelete