DIOCOTYLEDONOUS SPECIES
The pawpaw (Asimina triloba, L.) seems to have been universally used by all the tribes who lived where it flourished. Its use was apparently limited only by its distribution, for it was encountered sixteen times in the prehistoric material examined from Kentucky, Arkansas, and Ohio, as well as in historic objects made by the Menomini and Wisconsin Potawatomi. In the University of Wisconsin Museum is a bunch of prepared fiber (16422) from the caves of Kentucky. This fiber was commonly used by the cave and rock-shelter peoples of Arkansas for cords, mats, rope, and in all coarsely woven materials. A woven mat from Bushwick Cave is a fair example (MAIHF 11-6243). The Ohio cave and rock-shelter dwellers used the pawpaw for coarse bags and fabrics, for example, in a split bark bag (OSHAM 332-22). In the Milwaukee Public Museum are two bags in which this fiber was identified, one, from the Menomini (4570) in which only the weft is of pawpaw, and another (23287) from the Wisconsin Potawatomi, entirely composed of it.
The generaApocynumis represented by both the species indigenous to the territory surveyed, but as Indian hemp is one of them, it was rather surprising how infrequently they were encountered. Only ten examples of its use were found.
This plant (Apocynum androsaemifolium, L.) which is called dog-bane is so similar in appearance and properties that it might well have been and was used indiscriminately with Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum, L.). The species was found three times in material examined. Its use by the Nanticoke in the manufacture of fish nets is demonstrated by a net (50.2-600) in the American Museum. A burden strap (50-7221) made from this fiber by the Iroquois is also in the Museum collections.
Apocynum cannabinumL., the so-called Indian hemp, was found seven times and of these is represented four times in the archaeological cave and rock-shelter materials examined. The Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, has a bundle of prepared fibers (11-7384) found at Allards Bluff, Arkansas. A dark colored piece of fabric, attributed to the Hopewell culture of Ohio, made in part from this material (957) is in the collections of the Ohio State Historical and Archaeological Museum. Another piece of cloth (1200) in the same museum is an Adena culture example of the use of this fiber. The Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, has a Sauk and Fox bag (2-4694) made from this fiber. In the American Museum a fish net (50.2-601) made by the Nanticoke and an Iroquois burden strap (50-7401) complete the catalogue of objects in which this fiber occurs. In many of the older specimens examined, the fiber was crudely prepared before twisting, but in the more recent Indian material it is well broken down and fine, so as to make small counts and even threads or cords.
The milkweed family is represented by four species ofAsclepias, namely,tuberosa,pulchra,incarnata, andsyriaca. These fibers were used in the manufacture of fine threads and cords. In both archaeological and recent Indian material the fibers were well prepared before use. In the archaeological objects it is possible that the fibers were collected in the spring, after retting by the weather; in any event, they all show that they have been freed to a large extent of their cementitious materials and epidermis.
The highland milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa, L.) was encountered twelve times from all parts of its geographical range. The cave dwellers of Arkansas used it, as is exemplified by a bundle of knotted fibers in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation (11-6179). In the Peabody Museum of Harvard Universityis some textile material which accompanied a knife found in an Ohio mound (28328). The protohistoric Indians of Massachusetts used the fiber to manufacture textiles as may be seen in a piece of plain cloth (A4127) and in a specimen of twined cloth (A5478) in the same museum. The Iroquois Indians employed it to make fine threads for stringing wampum belts as is shown by one (M1905) in the Archaeological Museum of McGill University. As stated above, all this material was broken down to make comparatively fine, smooth threads and cords.
The species,Asclepias pulchra, Ehrh., or swamp milkweed, is closely related toA. incarnata, L. It was found in ten specimens examined, but from only two states, Ohio and Kentucky. In the University of Kentucky Museum is a rope (Bh-15/V4), made of this fiber. In the Ohio State Historical and Archaeological Museum are specimens of fabrics made from it which are attributed to the Hopewell culture. One of these, a piece of cloth wrapped around a copper plate (283), also containsUrtica gracilis.
The milkweed (Asclepias incarnata, L.) was noted four times in Ohio archaeological objects. In the Ohio State Historical and Archaeological Museum is a two-strand rope (899-20), one strand of which is made from this fiber. This is a typical cave and rock-shelter sample. Wrapped around a Hopewell culture copper plate in the same museum is a piece of fabric containing five different fibers, among themAsclepias incarnata(957).
The speciesAsclepias syriaca, L., seems to be the most widely distributed geographically of any used by the Indians surveyed in this paper. It was found seventeen times in material from all sections and many tribes.
In this Museum were observed the following objects in which this fiber was used in whole or in combination with other fiber: a Sauk and Fox bag (50-4886); a Delaware drum string (50.1-1609); a Delaware burden strap (50-7244); a Matchapunga fish net (50.1-9911); and a cord used, for wrapping on a spear (50.1-7475), Micmac. In the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, is a Kickapoo ball of string (2-5294) made of this fiber. In an Iroquois wampum belt (M1913) in the Archaeological Museum of McGill University, the beads are strung on cords made from this fiber. An Iroquois burden strap (AE 360) in the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences is composed of this fiber. Fiber of this species was also used by the prehistoric cave and rock-shelter people of Ohio as is shown by a fish net (OSHAM 332-23) in the Ohio State Historical and Archaeological Museum.
The paper birch (Betula papyrifera, Marsh.) was encountered in one specimen (AMNH 50.2-1792). The bark was untreated, simply twisted into a cord. In a specimen of Iroquois horsehair embroidery (McGU H49) the bark had received no preliminary treatment, but was used in the raw state.
This introduced plant, hemp (Cannabis sativa, L.), was found in four specimens, evidently made in post-Columbian times as the plant is not indigenous to the Western Hemisphere, but was introduced by the colonists at a very early date. It was found in a bag (MPM 28116) made by the Wisconsin Potawatomi Indians. A bowstring on an Algonkin bow (AMNH 50.2-4221A) is made from this fiber as are also portions of an Oneida burden strap (AMNH 50.1-1800).
This moose or leatherwood fiber (Dirca palustris, L.) was encountered eleven times in as widely separated states as Arkansas and Wisconsin. It was used both in the raw state, as strips twisted into cord, and as treated fiber in finer cords and threads. A prehistoric mat made by the inhabitants of Bushwick Cave, Arkansas, is composed of this material (MAIHF 19-4635). Cloth of the Adena culture made, in part, from this bast fiber (1200) is in the Ohio State Historical and Archaeological Museum. In the Milwaukee Public Museum is a Wisconsin Potawatomi bag (23447) inwhich the weft is nicely prepared fiber from this plant. In the collections of this Museum is a Winnebago bag (50-784D) woven with two kinds of cord; light colored cord ofDirca palustrisand dark colored cord ofTilia americana.
The bast from the black walnut (Juglans nigra, L.) was encountered twice in burden straps from the Iroquois (Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation). These fibers had apparently been previously treated, both chemically and mechanically. They were probably boiled in ashes, pounded, and then straightened so as to make them usable in twisting cord and thread. One such specimen in the above Museum carries the catalogue number 16-5208.
Common flax (Linum usitatissimum, L.) is another example of introduced fibers used by the Indians in post-Columbian times. The fiber was probably secured in trade. It was found in five specimens made by the Winnebago, Potawatomi, Michigan, Ottawa, and Delaware Indians. In the Milwaukee Public Museum is a bag (14619), made by the Winnebago and composed entirely of flax cords. In a Delaware burden strap (50-7191) in this Museum the fine cords are linen, but the coarse cords are milkweed,Asclepias syriaca. In the Archaeological Museum of McGill University is a wampum belt (M5932), the beads of which are strung on a commercial linen thread.
As was to be expected, cotton (Gossypium herbaceum, L.) became the most commonly and universally used of any of the fibers after it was introduced east of the Mississippi River. No specimen was encountered in the prehistoric material, but after its introduction and sale by traders it was the most commonly used fiber. It does not seem advisable to discuss these uses in detail, suffice it to say that it served all purposes for which string and thread are utilized.
Black willow (Salix nigra, Marsh.). This species of black willow was used by the Menomini, Winnebago, Michigan Ottawa, and Ojibway Indians in the manufacture of bags, pouches, fish nets, and cord. A Menomini bag (MAIHF 8-1136) and a similar Winnebago bag (AMNH 50.1-903) contain black willow fiber. A Micmac fish spear (AMNH 50-4754) is wrapped with black willow twine. In the preparation of black willow fiber the bark was obviously stripped from the tree. Then the inner white bast tissue was removed and boiled in wood ashes; finally, this bast was pounded and rubbed to remove all the cementitious materials and loosen the fibers so they could be arranged more or less parallel to each other for twisting or spinning. In none of the specimens examined were crude strips of the inner bark used without preliminary treatment.
The bast layer from the basswood (Tilia americana, L.) seems to have been the fiber most commonly and universally used by the Eastern Indians, for it was encountered fifty-two times, in all areas from which specimens were obtained, with the exception of the extreme south. It was utilized for nearly all purposes, from the manufacture of bags to textiles. In the Milwaukee Public Museum is a Menomini bag (4586) made from theTiliabast, carefully and thoroughly prepared to remove the gums and render the fibers parallel and capable of being spun into good yarn. A Potawatomi bag in this Museum (50.1-7091) is made from the same material. In the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, is a bag made by the Sauk and Fox (2-4966). In the Peabody Museum of Harvard University is a twilled woven garment (A5479B) made by the protohistoric Indians of Massachusetts. An Iroquois burden strap (AE 2963) in the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences is woven of threads from prepared fibers from this tree. In the Ohio State Historical and Archaeological Museum is a prehistoric fabric (957) containingTiliaand threeother species of fiber. Hopewell mound and rock-shelter specimens in the same museum show the use ofTilia.
The above gives a general picture of basswood fiber usage. It was found in an untreated state, merely cut into strips, as well as thoroughly treated and spun into comparatively fine threads.
The slippery elm (Ulmus fulva, Michx.) was found three times. Once, in a burden strap made by the Iroquois Indians (AMNH 50-6680) in which the fibers had received some preliminary treatment to soften them and remove much of the natural gum. Two other specimens, both rather coarsely woven fabrics from mounds of the Hopewell culture (OSHAM 283 and 125) were in the Ohio State Historical and Archaeological Museum.
The American elm (Ulmus americana, L.) was encountered only once in an Iroquois burden strap (MAIHF 19-4550). The fiber had received some preliminary treatment and differed decidedly fromUlmus fulvain the shape of the cells, in cross-section, and the residual amount of amorphous material.
Theeryngium(Eryngium yuccaefolium, Michx.) was commonly used by the prehistoric tribes of the area in which it occurs. It was found fifty-five times in material from the caves and rock-shelters of Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. Its parallel veined long leaves lend themselves to all uses as readily as the yuccas of the south and west. It is easily shredded or it can be used entire with equal facility. The stem contains a very strong bast fiber which was also utilized. It does not seem to have been utilized by the historic Indians, as it was not encountered outside of the above cultures. Whatever, if any, treatment it received before usage was very slight and consisted apparently of shredding, with no chemical treatment, as no fine threads or cords were found. A sandal from the Kentucky cave culture is made from this plant by utilizing the leaf, as in the Southwest. A cord from a reed mat found in the Tennessee caves (USNM 132252) is made from this material. The cord was used for tying reeds (Typha latifolia, L.) together. The Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, contains many specimens taken from the caves and rock-shelters of Arkansas. Among these is a bag (11-7315) from Allards Bluff, made of this material.
This plant was frequently encountered in collections from the Hopewell and the rock-shelter cultures of Ohio, in the State Museum at Columbus; as, braided work (957), and cloth from a burial (854). These objects are believed to be typical, but the same plant was used in all classes of cordage and textiles found in collections representing these cultures.
The nettle family is represented by three genera,Boehmeria,Urtica, andLaportea. Specimens of these three were encountered forty-eight times, so it seems to have been one of the most important families as a source of fibrous materials. The tissues were, almost without exception, treated before use.
The stingless nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica, L.) was used by practically all the Indian tribes covered by this survey. It was invariably more or less treated, with the possible exception of some twisted strands from the Bushwick Cave of Arkansas (MAIHF 19-4632). This cord appears to have been made by simply peeling the bark from the plant and twisting it. The Delaware used the same fiber in a wampum string (AMNH 50.1-1579), also in a burden strap (AMNH 50.1-1592). A Cherokee string used in a feather charm occurs in the collection of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. The handle of a Micmac curved knife (McGU H76) is fastened to the blade by wrapping with cord of this fiber. In the same museum there are two Iroquois wampum belts in which the strings for the beads are made fromBoehmeriafiber. In the American Museum are two specimens of cord, one on a Micmac fish spear (50.1-7475) and the other the string to an Ojibway bow (50-6874A).
It is evident that rawBoehmeriafiber, properly treated, produces especially fine, soft, and strong material. It is easily distinguished from the fibers of the other members of the family by its smaller size, the shape of the cells, and their distribution when seen in cross-section. Both theUrticaandLaporteafibers are coarser and the ratio of length to width of the fiber is much greater. The lumen in all three is longer one way than the other, but is much more open inBoehmeria cylindricathan the other species.
The slender nettle (Urtica gracilis, Ait.) seems to have been a favorite source for all peoples from prehistoric to modern Indians. Its use extended from New England to Wisconsin. It was usually processed before use, except among some of the prehistoric peoples where it was merely twisted into cord. A bag from the caves of Tennessee (USNM 132255) is made from this fiber which has had some preliminary treatment. A modern Sauk and Fox bag (MAIHF 2-7911) shows complete preliminary processing. Some string in the Peabody Museum of Harvard University (A4109), is made from this plant; this is protohistoric material. The Hopewell culture of Ohio is represented by twelve specimens using this fiber, all of which show some preliminary treatment. A sample of cloth from a copper plate is representative (OSHAM 283). The cave and rock-shelter cultures of Ohio are represented, but here the fiber seems to have received little, if any, preliminary treatment prior to use (OSHAM 332-42).
The woods nettle (Laportea canadensis, L.) was most widely used of all of theUrticaceae, both before and after treatment. It was used by the Sauk and Fox for bags, after it had received thorough treatment. In the Milwaukee Public Museum is a bag (30260) made of this material, thoroughly treated before being twisted into fine cord. A string used for tying a spear point to a shaft is in the Ojibway collection of the American Museum (50-4748). The Iroquois used it to make burden straps (MAIHF 19-8895). Braided cloth from prehistoric Kentucky is represented by a specimen (56795) in the Peabody Museum of Harvard University. The cave culture of Tennessee is represented in the United States National Museum by a shirt (132254) made from this fiber. The Hopewell culture of Ohio is well represented by fabrics in the Ohio State Historical and Archaeological Museum (957, is an example). The cave and rock-shelter culture of the same state employed this fiber to make twined cords as is exemplified by a cord (OSHAM 332-34). The cave and rock-shelter cultures of Arkansas used it for the manufacture of twisted cords as may be seen in a specimen (19-4630) in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation.