Recent Perishables Research in the U.S. Southwest

Bibliographic Data

ID7897290
AuthorsLaurie D Webster, Laurie Webster (University of Arizona, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume71
Issue3
Pages227-233
Publication date2006-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueKIVA (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0023-1940 • E-ISSN: 2051-6177
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1179/kiv.2006.71.3.001
OpenAlexW2064032007
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited9

This special issue of Kiva presents new research using archaeological textiles, baskets, and cordage from the southwestern United States. The Southwest is blessed with one of the best perishables records in the world, matched only by the dry deserts of Peru, Chile, Egypt, and the U.S. Great Basin. Past Southwestern peoples made intensive use of caves and rock shelters for habitation, storage, and other purposes, resulting in the preservation of literally thousands of worked perishable objects. These objects provide a glimpse into a rich body of material culture and aspects of cultural behavior rarely encountered at most archaeological sites. Although this record is extensive, it is uneven in time and space. We have relatively few perishables from Hohokam sites, for instance, or from Pueblo I sites on the Colorado Plateau. Yet, thanks to the important synthetic overviews compiled by such textile and basketry scholars as Kate Peck Kent (1983a), Lynn Teague (1998), Earl Morris and Robert Burgh (1941), and Gene Weltfish (1932) (see also Adovasio 1971, Fowler 1996), we know more about the manufacture, styles, and usage of perishables in the U. S. Southwest than anywhere else in North America. Far from being a sucked orange, the Southwestern perishables database has a long way to go before it is fully described, analyzed, and interpreted. Large collections of perishables from early excavations still await study in museums. Despite the excellent preservation of perishable materials and the phenomenal database that exists for the region, archaeological perishables research remains largely a fringe pursuit. Few archaeologists receive training in perishables analysis in graduate school or elsewhere, and most aren't quite sure what to make of these things. Too often, textile and basketry analyses are relegated to appendices in monographs and reports, leaving the archaeological community largely unaware of the strong research potential of this particular field of study. Fortunately, the past decade has witnessed a renewed interest in perishables research, especially among graduate students. Several recent master's theses and Ph.D. dissertations have employed archaeological perishables as a lens through

Archaeological record · Archaeology · Cave · Excavation · Geography · Peck (Imperial) · Plateau (mathematics) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Natural History · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · History

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