,aboriginal ,american ,weaving          
---- ,,by ----                          
,,miss ,,mary ,,lois ,,kissell1         
,american ,museum of ,natural ,history1 
,,new ,,york ,,city4   ,a ,paper ,read  
before ,the ,national ,association of   
,cotton ,manufacturers   at their       
,eighty-eighth ,meeting at ,mechanics   
,fair ,building1 ,boston1               
,mass41 ,april #bgth1 #aiaj4            
,illustration                           
,,aboriginal ,,american ,,weaving4      
,,miss ,,mary ,,lois ,,kissell1         
,american ,museum of ,natural ,history1 
,new ,york                              
,city4   ,wonderful as is the           
development of modern machinery for the 
manufacture of ,american                
textiles--machinery which seems almost  
human in the way it converts raw        
materials into finished cloth2 just as  
surprising are the most primitive looms 
of the ,american aborigines1 who without
 the aid of machinery make interesting  
weavings with only a bar upon which to  

suspend the warp threads while the human
 hand completes all the processes of    
manufacture4 ,modern man's inventive    
genius in the textile art has been      
expended upon perfecting the machinery1 
while primitive man's ingenuity has     
resulted in making a beautiful weaving  
with very simple means4  ,no doubt could
 we know the history of primitive loom  
work in ,america prior to the coming of 
the white man1 we would find an extended
 distribution of weaving1 but all early 
textiles have been lost owing to the    
destructability of the material and the 
lack of climatic and other conditions   
suitable for their                      
preservation--conditions such as are    
present in the hot desert lands of the  
,southwest and the coast region of      
,peru4 ,however1 so many impressions of 
weavings have been found on early       
pottery as to assure us that beautiful  
work of this kind was made in eastern1  
middle and southern ,united ,states4 ,in
 western ,british ,columbia at the      

present time there are tribes carrying  
on certain forms of weaving which show  
four interesting types4                 
,illustration3 ,,figure #a4--,,kwakiutl 
,,squaw1 ,,weaving4  ,the simplest type 
is the cedar bark mat woven of flat     
strips in horizontal and vertical lines4
 ,in beginning wide strips of the inner 
bark are hung from their centre over a  
crossbar of wood which is supported at  
either end by an upright beam4 ,the     
halves of the strips hanging in front   
are then split into strands of the      
desired width and a line of fine twining
 woven across to hold them securely4    
,the checker weaving of the mat is now  
begun at the left edge by doubling the  
weft element over the last warp and then
 weaving with the doubled element over  
and under one warp until the right edge 
is reached where it is turned back and  
slipped under an inch of the weaving    
just completed4 ,figure #a shows a squaw
 at work on such a mat1 and when she has
 completed this half of the mat the     

second half will be undertaken4 ,she    
finishes the edge by turning up the warp
 ends below the last line of weft and   
binds them with a row of twining just   
above this last weft4                   
,illustration3 ,,figure #b4--,,mat      
,,with ,,checked ,,design4  ,in their   
industries1 primitive people always     
utilize the materials found in their    
environment1 because no means is        
afforded them1 as in modern life1 for   
the transportation of materials from a  
distance4 ,british ,columbia is rich in 
cedar trees1 so it is not strange that  
material from this tree enters so       
largely into the weaving of this region4
 ,cedar bark lends itself very          
delightfully to the technic of these    
mats1 and its golden brown checked      
surface is at times crossed by black    
lines or broken by a group of black     
checks in simple designs4 ,these vary   
greatly1 but only one example 7,figure  
#b7 can be shown here4                  
,illustration3 ,,figure #c4--,,primitive

 ,,loom ,,with ,,plaited ,,mat4  ,the   
second type of weaving1 also of cedar   
bark1 is begun like the last mat1 but   
the elements are so placed as to cross  
the surface diagonally--alternate strips
 passing diagonally downward to the     
right and left as in ,figure #c4 ,these 
strips are not woven but plaited over   
and under each other without the        
addition of a weft element as in        
weaving4 ,when the side edge is reached 
the strips turn over at right angles and
 continue to plait in the changed       
oblique direction4 ,the lower edges are 
finished by bending the elements at     
right angles and plaiting them obliquely
 back for an inch into the completed    
surface4 ,checked weaving and plaiting  
is employed in a variety of ways1 for   
aside from mattings it enter into the   
construction of baskets1 pouches1 bags1 
sails1 raincoats1 baby's hoods1 and a   
number of other articles4               
,illustration3 ,,figure #d4--;,,another 
,,type ,,of ,,loom4  ,cedar bark which  

has been softened and shredded plays an 
important part in the clothing of this  
region1 especially in blankets like that
 in ,figure #d4 ,the blanket here1      
however1 is not of cedar bark but of    
goat's hair for a number of materials   
are made use of by this technic4 ,in    
this weaving the warps are not thrown   
over the crossbeam as in the other loom 
but are supported on a cord which itself
 is bound to the beam by another cord4  
,neither are the warps united by a strip
 of weft running over and under but by a
 two strand weft element which twines   
about the warps4 ,to my knowledge this  
form of weaving has never been          
reproduced by machinery as no machine   
can make threads twine4 ,the blankets of
 cedar bark are undecorated1 but those  
of wool frequently have strands of      
another color passed across the surface 
and caught into the weaving from time to
 time1 producing similar designs to that
 in ,figure #d4 ,as observed in the     
illustration the lines of weft are not  

driven home but are set some distance   
apart1 the space between varying on     
different garments4 ,at the lower edge1 
however1 there is frequently found a    
band of closely woven twining1 at other 
times a band of fur1 or a long fringe   
may complete the edge4                  
,illustration3 ,,figure                 
#e4--,,unfinished ,,chilkat ,,blanket4  
,the most beautiful weaving of western  
,british ,columbia is the ,chilkat      
blanket1 ,figures #e and #f1 a weaving  
which is unique in technic and design1  
both in primitive and modern textile    
art4 ,it is a ceremonial garment and the
 gorgeous designs in white1 blue1 yellow
 and black are of totemic significance  
and relate to the ceremonial life of the
 ,indian4 ,in earliest times this       
blanket was undecorated1 a plain field  
of white2 then color was introduced on  
the white field in stripes of           
herring-bone pattern typifying raven's  
tail1 because similar to the vanes of   
the tail feathers2 and later the        

elaborate geometric designs of present  
day blankets developed4 ,these designs  
are first painted upon a pattern board  
the size and shape of those which are to
 appear upon the blanket1 and it is from
 this pattern board that the squaw      
weaves her pattern4 ,but although the   
woman 7,figure #g7 does weave the       
blanket1 the man also has his part in   
the process as he furnishes the loom1   
the pattern board and the skin of the   
goat4 ,the squaw prepares all the       
materials and collects the bark1 for the
 warp is of shredded two-ply cedar bark 
wrapped with a thread of wool1 while the
 weft is entirely of the soft wool of   
the mountain goat4      ,illustration3  
,,figure #f4--,,old ,,chilkat ,,blanket4
      ,illustration3 ,,figure           
#g4--,,squaw ,,weaving ,,chilkat        
,,blanket4  ,lieut4 ,g4 ,t4 ,,emmons    
tells us that the goat of this region   
abounds in the rugged coast mountains   
from ,puget ,sound to ,cook's ,inlet1   
but is unknown on the outlying islands4 

,its preference is the glacial belt and 
snow-fields of the most broken country  
and the terraced sides of the           
precipitous cliffs4 ,it is gregarious in
 habit being found in bands of from ten 
to fifty or more4 ,from ,september until
 ,april the skin is in prime condition  
with an abundance of soft wool under a  
heavy covering of long coarse hair2 but 
the hunting is only done in the autumn4 
,to prepare for the plucking1 the skin  
must be kept wet on the underside so it 
is moistened and rolled up for several  
days1 thus loosening the hold of the    
fleece4 ,with thumb and fingers of both 
hands the squaw1 seated upon the ground1
 pushes the fleece from her1 procuring  
by this process great patches of wool   
and hair4 ,then the hairs are plucked   
out and thrown away and the wool is     
ready to be spun4 ,during the spinning  
the woman also sits upon the ground with
 legs outstretched1 with the crude wool 
by her left side within easy reach4     
,this she draws out with her left hand  

and feeds to her right1 in the amount   
necessary to form the required size of  
thread4 ,as it is received between the  
palm of the right hand and the right    
thigh1 it is rolled from the body and   
falls to the side in loose1 connected   
thread4 ,this soft thread is next spun  
between the palm of the hand and the    
thigh to form a single tightly twisted  
strand2 and by the same process two of  
these strands are rolled together to    
form the weft thread for the blanket4   
,in technic the blanket is related to   
the last one described for it is a twine
 weaving1 but a twilled twine as the two
 strand weft encloses two warps at a    
move and with each succeeding line of   
weft advances one warp giving the       
surface a twilled effect4 ,it is        
interesting that the small blocks of    
design are woven separately something as
 a tapestry1 and later the blocks are   
sewed together with a thread of sinew   
from the caribou or whale4              
,illustration3 ,,figure #h4--;,a ,,third

 ,,type ,,of ,,loom4      ,illustration3
 ,,figure #i4--,,navajo ,,loom4  ,the   
weaving from this region which most     
nearly approaches machine work in       
process of making is the dog-hair and   
goat's wool blanket4 ,it is woven upon a
 loom of two revolving cylindrical      
beams1 supported by upright posts at    
either end 7,figure #h74 ,the end of the
 warp thread is attached to a staying   
cord stretched from post to post about  
midway between the revolving beams4 ,the
 warp then encircles the loom1 catches  
under the staying cord1 then turns and  
travels back to its starting point1     
there to catch under the staying cord   
and repeat the operation4 ,the weft     
moves across the warps as in twilled    
cloth1 over two1 under two1 with an     
advance of one warp at each line of     
weft4 ,dog's hair1 duck down and goat's 
wool are the materials used1 especially 
the latter4 ,these materials are spun in
 two-ply thread twisted partly upon the 
thigh of the weaver and finished on a   

spindle4  ,leaving this weaving area in 
western ,british ,columbia we pass to   
the other locality of note in ,north    
,america where primitive weaving is     
practised1--in southwestern ,united     
,states and northern ,mexico4 ,here the 
loom work is at a more advanced stage of
 development than that of the northern  
area1 the weavers making use of a loom  
frame1 sheds1 healds1 batten and an     
improvised shuttle4 ,the ,navajo        
,indians are the most skilled weavers   
north of ,mexico and a description of   
their weaving is fairly typical of this 
area4 ,as the warps are of soft pliable 
threads they must of necessity be       
stretched between two beams4 ,these are 
suspended vertically if the weaving is  
to be of any great size1 the distance   
between them being that of the proposed 
length of the blanket 7,figure #i74 ,the
 warp threads are not stretched across  
the beams with an oval movement but are 
laced over them1 forming two sheds1 the 
upper of which is held intact by means  

of the shed-rod1 and the lower by a set 
of healds passing over a heald-rod4 ,a  
wooden fork serves as a reed and a      
slender twig as a shuttle4 ,upon this   
twig is loosely wound from end to end   
the weft thread4 ,the shuttle at one    
move crosses less than half of the warps
 as the batten--a flat stick of hard    
oak--is too short to open more than that
 length of the shed for the passage of  
the shuttle4      ,illustration3        
,,figure #aj4--;,,hopi ,,blanket4       
,illustration3 ,,figure #aa4--;,,hopi   
,,weaving4      ,illustration3 ,,figure 
#ab4--,,mexican ,,serape4  ,in ,figure  
#aj only a portion of a blanket from the
 ,hopi ,indians is shown1 that the      
delicate design may be better seen4 ,a  
number of ,hopi patterns have this fine 
white line of tracery upon the dark     
background and it is this play of the   
fine line pattern on the fabric which is
 one of the chief beauties of ,hopi     
weavings4 ,the sparkle of white is even 
more brilliant in ,figure #aa1 another  

smaller weaving from the same people4   
,they make constant use of the diagonal 
or twilled technic1 a weave which       
requires that the warps be divided into 
four sheds1 the upper supplied with a   
shed stick1 the three lower with healds4
 ,the sheds are shifted in a variety of 
orders for the construction of different
 patterns4      ,illustration3 ,,figure 
#ac4--;,,huichol ,,weaving4  ,one of the
 most beautiful weavings the writer has 
ever seen from the southwest is that    
pictured in ,figure #ab1 which is1      
however1 only a small center portion of 
the beautiful sirape from ,mexico4 ,the 
pattern in two colors of indigo upon a  
tan colored ground is especially        
effective1 while the tiny blue dots     
sprinkled upon the tan surface and the  
tan dots over the blue design add a     
subtle and delightful charm not         
frequently met with4  ,the last two     
examples1 ,figures #ac and #ad1 are also
 from ,mexico1 the first a bit of       
weaving with animal designs from the    

,huichol ,indians1 and the last a belt  
loom from the same people4 ,in making   
belts and other narrow fabrics the loom 
is either horizontal or oblique in      
position1 stretching from some post or  
tree to the weaver and there attached to
 a loop which passes either about the   
waist or under the thighs and rendered  
tense by the weight of the weaver4      
,these belts may be woven with two or   
four sheds according to the style of    
weaving desired1 while another method of
 pattern work on two shed weaving has   
the addition of a round stick run into  
the warps so as to raise certain threads
 while the weft passes two or three     
times underneath producing a variety of 
damask weaving4  ,the stretch between   
these simple methods of primitive       
peoples and machine methods of modern   
life is great indeed and we will long   
continue to wonder that with such crude 
devices these people could produce      
results which compare favorably with our
 modern weavings4      ,illustration3   

,,figure #ad4--,,mexican ,,belt ,,loom4