Comments on “America's Oldest Basketry”

Abstract

ABSTRACT. A recent publication on directly dated basketry specimens from the western United States (Berger et al. 1998, Radiocarbon 40(2):615-20) contained some misleading information, and in a few cases discussed radiocarbon ages from unacknowledged sources. We provide the missing original citations along with some clarifications. We focus especially on the age of distinctive Fort Rock and Multiple Warp-style sandals, for which we provide additional previously unreported 14C ages. Direct dates on fibers from Fort Rock sandals from 3 different sites range in age from 10,500 cal BP to about 9200 cal BP. Contextual evidence suggests that Multiple Warp sandals may date as early as 6600 cal BP, but the few directly dated specimens are less than 1000 yr old.

Getting Beyond the Point: Textiles of the Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene in the Northwestern Great Basin

“…is unclear, as is the question of continuity between Fort Rock and later styles. The timing of the change corresponds to widespread regional changes long recognized in the West and Northwest, including lithic tool forms and raw material frequencies (Bedwell 1973;Cressman 1986;Jones et al 2003;Smith 2007), and general land use strategies (Adams et al 2008;Ames 1988;Jones 1997, 2013;Connolly 1999;Madsen 2007). Although the record is incomplete for the middle Holocene, these later sandal types-along with Catlow Twine basketry, which also first appears about 9,400 years ago-provide stylistic and technological continuity into late Holocene (Spiral Weft) and post-contact (Multiple Warp, Spiral Weft, V-Twined) periods (Barker 2011;Connolly andBarker 2004, 2008).…”

“…Addressing broader questions of behavior and diet requires a consideration of, among other things, the role of plants for food, tools, shelter, and other necessities. Where botanical evidence is present, particularly in caves and rockshelters, traditionally women-centered endeavors (collecting plant foods and fiber crafts) tend to be more visible (Connolly 1999;Elston and Zeanah 2002;Jones and Beck 1999;Pinson 1999;Rhode and Louderback 2007).…”

“…However, after about 9,000 years ago " [c]hange is undeniable in terms of artifact form and flaking, a greater emphasis on the use of obsidian, the greater use of unretouched flakes, and the addition of new tools" (Bedwell 1973:159). At least in its broad outline, this characterization remains valid (Beck and Jones 1997;Connolly 1999;Jenkins et al 2012). These changes are accompanied by what Pinson (2007:203) terms an "adaptive discontinuity," measured by increasing use of grinding implements, a shift from highly diversified target prey to a focus on artiodactyls, and apparent reductions in both mobility and range (Beck and Jones 1997;Haynes 2007;Hockett 2007;Janetski et al 2012).…”

Sandal Types and Archaic Prehistory on the Colorado Plateau

“…B.C. (Connolly and Cannon 1999). Recovered from several dry caves of central and southwest Oregon, Fort Rock sandals may be antecedent to the similar twined examples of the Colorado Plateau.…”

The use of “soft” X-ray radiography in determining hidden construction characteristics in fiber sandals

“…Prehistoric foot ware has been used by Native American groups in North America for at least the last 10,000 years (Connolly and Cannon, 1999;Geib, 2000), during which time fiber sandals have been one of the most common forms. Sandals can be subsumed under the label of basketry, for, as Adovasio has stated, sandals are ''really baskets worn on the feet and thus have the power to elucidate the same range of issues as other formal classes of plant-fiber artifacts'' (Adovasio, 2006:2).…”