Artifact Featurettes
Every so often, in a variety of formats, the Museum examines an artifact from a past society on the Museum social media pages. You can view some of our past "Artifact Features" here. Stay tuned to our social media for additional pictures and museum happenings.
February 23, 2018: Mancala, Oware game board
By Ryan Gallagher
Mancala is a name used for a variety of board games played traditionally throughout much of Africa and the Caribbean. Oware is one such variant played primarily in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The game consists of a board, divided into sides, each consisting of a row of six holes and a larger hole (the storehouse) on the terminal end of each row. The game is traditionally played by two players. At the start of the game, there are four stones or seeds in each hole, and the object of the game is to capture more of these harvested pieces in your storehouse than your opponent. While it is a two player game, Oware is often played in public places and observer participation is encouraged. It has been documented as being an important tool for teaching children arithmetic outside of school, and the large gatherings that often result from watching the game are a popular way for people to socialize in the Ashanti region.
The board is made of native wood from the region and the pieces are seeds from the Guilandina bonduc plant. Not much is known about this particular artifact (77-1), as it was donated from a private collector who purchased the board and pieces second-hand.
Mancala is a name used for a variety of board games played traditionally throughout much of Africa and the Caribbean. Oware is one such variant played primarily in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The game consists of a board, divided into sides, each consisting of a row of six holes and a larger hole (the storehouse) on the terminal end of each row. The game is traditionally played by two players. At the start of the game, there are four stones or seeds in each hole, and the object of the game is to capture more of these harvested pieces in your storehouse than your opponent. While it is a two player game, Oware is often played in public places and observer participation is encouraged. It has been documented as being an important tool for teaching children arithmetic outside of school, and the large gatherings that often result from watching the game are a popular way for people to socialize in the Ashanti region.
The board is made of native wood from the region and the pieces are seeds from the Guilandina bonduc plant. Not much is known about this particular artifact (77-1), as it was donated from a private collector who purchased the board and pieces second-hand.
February 23, 2018: Ashanti Gold Weight
By Lauren Harrison
This Ashanti bronze figure (43-63) was forged in Ghana sometime between the 14th and 19th century. The earliest figures were simple geometric shapes, sometime incised with linear patterns. These earliest weights were made between the 14th and 17th centuries. This figure belongs to a later period (17th- 19th century) after metalworking skills of the region had improved. Millions of these scale weights were forged over those centuries.
These figures, called abrammou, were used as scale weights for gold dust: the currency of the period. This particular figure depicts a farmer digging out a palm tree, but the figures could represent almost anything (animals, plants, everyday implements, and animated scenes from daily life). They could be realistic like this one or more stylized.
The weights were usually cast using the lost wax method. The metal smith would carve a figure or animal out of wax and then press soft clay around the wax. When the clay was baked, the wax would melt away, leaving a hollow core. The artist would pour liquid metal into the mold. When the metal in the mold had set, the clay would be broken away, and the bronze figure would be complete. The oldest examples of the lost wax technique have been dated to around 4500 BCE.
Ashanti men collected sets of these weights and the amount assigned to each weight was known only to its owner—a specific figure did not represent a specific weight. The figures usually had some sentimental value to the smith who forged them. When the weights were used in a commercial transaction, both the buyer and seller would use their own sets of weights to come to an agreement.
Ashanti men collected sets of these weights— averaging about 40-60 weights to a set, but sometimes totaling as many as hundreds of weights— and kept them in futuo (treasury) bags. The term futuo encompasses the full set of gold-weighing equipment: not only the weights, but also the scales, gold dust scoops, spoons and assorted bags and boxes for storing the dust and nuggets. Wealthy men would hire bearers to carry around their futuo for them. These items were used as a status symbol.
The use of these weights ceased in 1896 with the establishment of colonial control in the area and a ban on gold dust as currency.
This Ashanti bronze figure (43-63) was forged in Ghana sometime between the 14th and 19th century. The earliest figures were simple geometric shapes, sometime incised with linear patterns. These earliest weights were made between the 14th and 17th centuries. This figure belongs to a later period (17th- 19th century) after metalworking skills of the region had improved. Millions of these scale weights were forged over those centuries.
These figures, called abrammou, were used as scale weights for gold dust: the currency of the period. This particular figure depicts a farmer digging out a palm tree, but the figures could represent almost anything (animals, plants, everyday implements, and animated scenes from daily life). They could be realistic like this one or more stylized.
The weights were usually cast using the lost wax method. The metal smith would carve a figure or animal out of wax and then press soft clay around the wax. When the clay was baked, the wax would melt away, leaving a hollow core. The artist would pour liquid metal into the mold. When the metal in the mold had set, the clay would be broken away, and the bronze figure would be complete. The oldest examples of the lost wax technique have been dated to around 4500 BCE.
Ashanti men collected sets of these weights and the amount assigned to each weight was known only to its owner—a specific figure did not represent a specific weight. The figures usually had some sentimental value to the smith who forged them. When the weights were used in a commercial transaction, both the buyer and seller would use their own sets of weights to come to an agreement.
Ashanti men collected sets of these weights— averaging about 40-60 weights to a set, but sometimes totaling as many as hundreds of weights— and kept them in futuo (treasury) bags. The term futuo encompasses the full set of gold-weighing equipment: not only the weights, but also the scales, gold dust scoops, spoons and assorted bags and boxes for storing the dust and nuggets. Wealthy men would hire bearers to carry around their futuo for them. These items were used as a status symbol.
The use of these weights ceased in 1896 with the establishment of colonial control in the area and a ban on gold dust as currency.
February 26, 2016: Miniature Karuk Basket
This beautiful, miniature basket was woven by contemporary Karuk weaver Laura Sanders using traditional materials. The warps of the basket, which you can see poking from the edge of the lid as well as along the crossed-warp start, are made of willow shoots. The light-brown primary weft background is of willow root. The overlay, which makes up the design, consists of creamy-white bear grass and wine-red Woodwardia fern.
The use of red-dyed Woodwardia was present throughout Northwestern California, but it was historically most common among the Karuk. The parts of the fern used in weaving are the white filaments that run the length of the stipe (stalk), which are broken out from the frond. They are dyed their rich, vibrant hue with the bark of white alder (Alnus rhombifolia). Dying can be applied by chewing up the bark and running the fern filament through the mouth or by crushing the inner alder bark into powder, boiling it in water, and seeping the fern filaments in the solution once it has cooled.
Karuk basketry is part of the basketry family of Northwestern California, which includes cultures such as Yurok, Hupa, Tolowa, Whilkut, and Chilula. In this area of California, twining was dominant with only a very few known instances of coiling among the Whilkut and Chilula, post-European contact. A key trait of Northwestern California twining is the use of single-sided overlay, in which the overlay material is placed behind the primary weft (usually conifer root) on the backface of the basket and exterior to the primary weft on the workface of the basket. The result is overlay design only on the workface of the basket, which can be used to distinguish Northwestern California basketry from Northeastern California basketry, which employs a double-sided overlay technique.
This beautiful, miniature basket was woven by contemporary Karuk weaver Laura Sanders using traditional materials. The warps of the basket, which you can see poking from the edge of the lid as well as along the crossed-warp start, are made of willow shoots. The light-brown primary weft background is of willow root. The overlay, which makes up the design, consists of creamy-white bear grass and wine-red Woodwardia fern.
The use of red-dyed Woodwardia was present throughout Northwestern California, but it was historically most common among the Karuk. The parts of the fern used in weaving are the white filaments that run the length of the stipe (stalk), which are broken out from the frond. They are dyed their rich, vibrant hue with the bark of white alder (Alnus rhombifolia). Dying can be applied by chewing up the bark and running the fern filament through the mouth or by crushing the inner alder bark into powder, boiling it in water, and seeping the fern filaments in the solution once it has cooled.
Karuk basketry is part of the basketry family of Northwestern California, which includes cultures such as Yurok, Hupa, Tolowa, Whilkut, and Chilula. In this area of California, twining was dominant with only a very few known instances of coiling among the Whilkut and Chilula, post-European contact. A key trait of Northwestern California twining is the use of single-sided overlay, in which the overlay material is placed behind the primary weft (usually conifer root) on the backface of the basket and exterior to the primary weft on the workface of the basket. The result is overlay design only on the workface of the basket, which can be used to distinguish Northwestern California basketry from Northeastern California basketry, which employs a double-sided overlay technique.
February 19, 2016: Indonesian Batik
By Beverly Crowfoot with special thanks to Dr. Henry Spiller, Ethnomusicologist at UC Davis, for contributing information.
This framed Indonesian batik was given to UC Davis in 1965 by Mrs. Howard (Idaho) Vaughn (1886-1968). Accession records indicated that it was displayed at Picnic Day in 1966, along with Indonesian puppets from Java lent by Dr. Denise O'Brien and Balinese wood sculptures from the collection of Katherine Branstetter.
Mrs. Vaughn and her husband (1890-1953) lived in Dixon and were renowned in the livestock community of Northern California. Mr. Vaughn was known for his registered Shorthorns cows, Shropshire sheep and Chester White hogs. The couple were also known as world travelers and it, therefore, seems reasonable to assume they collected this batik on one of their trips.
Batiks are wax-resist dyed fabrics; the designs are traditionally hand-drawn with a stylus or canting. The two colors, blue from the indigo plant, and brown, from the bark of the soga tree, indicate that the piece was made on Java.
Four Wayang Kulit, or shadow puppets, are depicted in the corners of this meter-square batik. Stories from two Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are recounted in shadow plays, often with a musical accompaniment by a gamelan group. Each puppet master or dhalang chooses from among 500 different characters to tell a story taken from these epics.
The Mahabharata tells the story of the war between the Pandawa brothers and their evil cousins the Kurawas. In the lower left is Puntadewa or Yudistira, eldest of the Pandawa brothers, said to be steadfast even during war. Arjuna, in the upper right, is the middle brother, known for his single-minded concentration and devotion to Kresna, a Hindu deity usually identified by his black face. The remaining two puppets depict the same character, Parikesit, the grandchild of Arjuna.
In 2003, UNESCO designated Wayang Kulit as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The Davis community will have the opportunity to see a shadow play at the Mondavi Center on April 24, 2016 at 3 pm, performed by dhalang Midiyanto, accompanied with gamelan music performed by Sari Raras from UC Berkeley. On May 12, 2016, 12 noon, the UC Davis Javanese gamelan ensemble, under the direction of Phil Acimovic, will perform at the Mondavi Center.
The central design of the batik is composed of eight double winged Garuda, a large bird-like creature that is Indonesia's national symbol. The framing edge design is free form, as opposed to being geometric, and is based on stylized patterns of forms taken from nature.
Indonesian batiked fabric is typically rectangular in shape so that the wearer can wrap herself/himself in a sarong. The square shape of this batik suggests that it was perhaps made as a Blangkon, or man's cap.
This framed Indonesian batik was given to UC Davis in 1965 by Mrs. Howard (Idaho) Vaughn (1886-1968). Accession records indicated that it was displayed at Picnic Day in 1966, along with Indonesian puppets from Java lent by Dr. Denise O'Brien and Balinese wood sculptures from the collection of Katherine Branstetter.
Mrs. Vaughn and her husband (1890-1953) lived in Dixon and were renowned in the livestock community of Northern California. Mr. Vaughn was known for his registered Shorthorns cows, Shropshire sheep and Chester White hogs. The couple were also known as world travelers and it, therefore, seems reasonable to assume they collected this batik on one of their trips.
Batiks are wax-resist dyed fabrics; the designs are traditionally hand-drawn with a stylus or canting. The two colors, blue from the indigo plant, and brown, from the bark of the soga tree, indicate that the piece was made on Java.
Four Wayang Kulit, or shadow puppets, are depicted in the corners of this meter-square batik. Stories from two Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are recounted in shadow plays, often with a musical accompaniment by a gamelan group. Each puppet master or dhalang chooses from among 500 different characters to tell a story taken from these epics.
The Mahabharata tells the story of the war between the Pandawa brothers and their evil cousins the Kurawas. In the lower left is Puntadewa or Yudistira, eldest of the Pandawa brothers, said to be steadfast even during war. Arjuna, in the upper right, is the middle brother, known for his single-minded concentration and devotion to Kresna, a Hindu deity usually identified by his black face. The remaining two puppets depict the same character, Parikesit, the grandchild of Arjuna.
In 2003, UNESCO designated Wayang Kulit as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The Davis community will have the opportunity to see a shadow play at the Mondavi Center on April 24, 2016 at 3 pm, performed by dhalang Midiyanto, accompanied with gamelan music performed by Sari Raras from UC Berkeley. On May 12, 2016, 12 noon, the UC Davis Javanese gamelan ensemble, under the direction of Phil Acimovic, will perform at the Mondavi Center.
The central design of the batik is composed of eight double winged Garuda, a large bird-like creature that is Indonesia's national symbol. The framing edge design is free form, as opposed to being geometric, and is based on stylized patterns of forms taken from nature.
Indonesian batiked fabric is typically rectangular in shape so that the wearer can wrap herself/himself in a sarong. The square shape of this batik suggests that it was perhaps made as a Blangkon, or man's cap.
February 5, 2016: Kawaiisu Resin Spoon, San-na-que-ah-but-zy
This resin spoon was used to coat water bottle baskets with resin from piñon or nut pine for additional waterproofing. That both water bottles and spoons used to coat water bottles were made as twined basketry speaks to the importance and diversity of California basketry.
Merriam’s account of collecting this basket is as follows, transcribed from his journals:
“Visited two Indian camps (1/2 mile and 2 miles north easterly from Piute) of a tribe of Indians I have never met before. They call themselves No-woo’-wah or New –woo’-ah and speak a strange language a brief vocabulary of which I will give later. In these camps were newly killed Mountain Quail and Valley Quail. The latter were common all about and I saw the young boys shooting them with small 22 cal. Rifles. The Mountain Quail they told me they had killed on Piute Mountain “above the mine.”
The lower camp consists of a rough brush enclosure. I saw there an old woman, a middle aged man and wife, 3 girls in their teens, and a small boy and small girl.
The upper camp is over the first ridge and is obviously a very old Indian home. It consists of a ranch with garden and fruit trees – mainly apple. There is a good adobe house inhabited by two families. The house is in two parts separated by a partition. The Indians told me it was built by Indians a long time ago. A few rods away is an interesting hut, about 8 ft. high and 10 in diameter. It is oval and has a frame work of slender poles fastened together at the crossings with bark widths or thongs. There are both upright and horizontal poles, and the upright ones curve over and down instead of sticking up at the top. The entire hut is covered with large round rushes, made into a coarse mat which completely covers the framework leaving an entrance in front, which opens into a small brush enclosure. The hut may be a sweat house. In it I found several burden baskets and a couple of resin spoons, for pouring the hot fine resin on the water bottles to make them water tight. These I bought, along with several other rough work baskets and a fairly good hat bowl.”
Merriam’s account of collecting this basket is as follows, transcribed from his journals:
“Visited two Indian camps (1/2 mile and 2 miles north easterly from Piute) of a tribe of Indians I have never met before. They call themselves No-woo’-wah or New –woo’-ah and speak a strange language a brief vocabulary of which I will give later. In these camps were newly killed Mountain Quail and Valley Quail. The latter were common all about and I saw the young boys shooting them with small 22 cal. Rifles. The Mountain Quail they told me they had killed on Piute Mountain “above the mine.”
The lower camp consists of a rough brush enclosure. I saw there an old woman, a middle aged man and wife, 3 girls in their teens, and a small boy and small girl.
The upper camp is over the first ridge and is obviously a very old Indian home. It consists of a ranch with garden and fruit trees – mainly apple. There is a good adobe house inhabited by two families. The house is in two parts separated by a partition. The Indians told me it was built by Indians a long time ago. A few rods away is an interesting hut, about 8 ft. high and 10 in diameter. It is oval and has a frame work of slender poles fastened together at the crossings with bark widths or thongs. There are both upright and horizontal poles, and the upright ones curve over and down instead of sticking up at the top. The entire hut is covered with large round rushes, made into a coarse mat which completely covers the framework leaving an entrance in front, which opens into a small brush enclosure. The hut may be a sweat house. In it I found several burden baskets and a couple of resin spoons, for pouring the hot fine resin on the water bottles to make them water tight. These I bought, along with several other rough work baskets and a fairly good hat bowl.”
January 8, 2016: Nuu-chah-nulth Mask
Happy New Year! Here's the first Artifact of the Week of the year:
Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) Mask
Turn of the Century, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Wood carving was a highly developed art of the Nootka people of Vancouver Island in British Colombia. Houses, boats, containers, furniture, masks, and decorative objects were made from wood, and even clothing was made from the bark of cedar. The Nootka lived in large, extended families, sharing longhouses that were as large as forty by one-hundred feet and could house up to around thirty-five people. Within the longhouse, family-groups had their own areas and cooking hearths. These familial units would usually move between two or more longhouses in different locations over the course of the year depending on the season’s economy.
Masks made by the Nootka resembled a variety of animals and anthropomorphic faces, and were usually not painted as colorfully as their neighboring Northwest Coast neighbors. Accomplished wood carvers were recognized at potlatches and public events, where their work might be used or displayed. Masks were used in a variety of dances and ceremonies, as well as part of the larger wood sculpting artistic tradition.
Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) Mask
Turn of the Century, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Wood carving was a highly developed art of the Nootka people of Vancouver Island in British Colombia. Houses, boats, containers, furniture, masks, and decorative objects were made from wood, and even clothing was made from the bark of cedar. The Nootka lived in large, extended families, sharing longhouses that were as large as forty by one-hundred feet and could house up to around thirty-five people. Within the longhouse, family-groups had their own areas and cooking hearths. These familial units would usually move between two or more longhouses in different locations over the course of the year depending on the season’s economy.
Masks made by the Nootka resembled a variety of animals and anthropomorphic faces, and were usually not painted as colorfully as their neighboring Northwest Coast neighbors. Accomplished wood carvers were recognized at potlatches and public events, where their work might be used or displayed. Masks were used in a variety of dances and ceremonies, as well as part of the larger wood sculpting artistic tradition.
December 12, 2015: Fort Rock Sandal
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Artifact of the Week: Fort Rock Sandal
In 1938, on a volcanic butte in the most northwestern edge of the vast Great Basin, archaeologist Luther Cressman made a discovery in the Fort Rock Cave, near the Fort Rock Crater in Central Oregon. A cache filled with dozens of woven sandals lay beneath a layer of volcanic ash, determined to have been left by the Mount Mazama volcano that erupted about 7,500 years ago. This was big news, as it established a minimum date that the rare textiles could have been left. We now knew that people had made this type of textile at least 7,500 years ago, but as to how long they were left before the volcanic eruption, we could only speculate. Volcanic ash layers are a good way to establish relative dating when other corroborating evidence can be used to determine how long ago the blast was, but at the time, no absolute dating method for something of this age existed.
Radiometric dating had been developed by at least 1907, when Bertram Boltwood published on a possible method to date rocks based on uranium’s decay into lead. However, the idea of an organic dating method was seen as unlikely due to the lack known radioactive elements in organic matter. In 1934, the possibility of a radioactive carbon was theorized by Franz Kurie, Yale Physicist, but its measurement proved elusive.
Two years later, however, physicist Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben, from UC Berkeley, discovered a radioactive isotope of carbon, carbon-14, and determined the half-life of its beta decay into nitrogen-14 to be about 5,700 years. Following this discovery, it was further learned that carbon-14 existed in trace amounts in the atmosphere and was the natural product of cosmic radiation turning stable nitrogen to carbon-14 the upper atmosphere.
By 1947, Berkeley chemist and contributor to the Manhattan Project Williard Libby had developed a theoretical application to use naturally occurring carbon-14 to provide a method of absolute dating of organic material. The underlying principle Libby understood was that organic material, regardless of tropic level, incorporates carbon-14 into its tissue proportionate to the atmospheric ratio, since the pool of all organic carbon ultimately comes from photosynthetic carbon fixation. When that organic creature died, however, it would no longer incorporate new carbon-14 from the atmosphere, and the carbon-14 already in its tissues would decay at a fixed, known rate. It would therefore be possible to look at the ratio of carbon-14 to stable carbon in an old, organic substance, and be able to known how long ago that substance ceased being a living organism.
This discovery would have huge implications for the field of archeology. To test his theory, though, Libby would have to compare material of known age to see if the experimental data would tell the same story. Libby and his colleges sent out a call around the world for other researchers to send them organic specimens. Soon, a wealth of material began showing up at Libby’s lab – Egyptian mummy hair, lines of Peruvian rope, textiles wrappings of the Dead Sea Scrolls, mammoth bones, wood from glacial moraines, and, among them, this sandal.
The results of Libby’s radiocarbon dating showed this sandal to be 9188±48 years old, or calibrated, 10,920-9,650 BP. While the sandal is used and worn-out in some places, it’s looking pretty good for the 10,000 years it has seen. This artifact has the lucky distinction of being both an excellent example of ancient material-culture as well as part of the fascinating story of learning how to date the dead through its dying carbon.
In 1938, on a volcanic butte in the most northwestern edge of the vast Great Basin, archaeologist Luther Cressman made a discovery in the Fort Rock Cave, near the Fort Rock Crater in Central Oregon. A cache filled with dozens of woven sandals lay beneath a layer of volcanic ash, determined to have been left by the Mount Mazama volcano that erupted about 7,500 years ago. This was big news, as it established a minimum date that the rare textiles could have been left. We now knew that people had made this type of textile at least 7,500 years ago, but as to how long they were left before the volcanic eruption, we could only speculate. Volcanic ash layers are a good way to establish relative dating when other corroborating evidence can be used to determine how long ago the blast was, but at the time, no absolute dating method for something of this age existed.
Radiometric dating had been developed by at least 1907, when Bertram Boltwood published on a possible method to date rocks based on uranium’s decay into lead. However, the idea of an organic dating method was seen as unlikely due to the lack known radioactive elements in organic matter. In 1934, the possibility of a radioactive carbon was theorized by Franz Kurie, Yale Physicist, but its measurement proved elusive.
Two years later, however, physicist Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben, from UC Berkeley, discovered a radioactive isotope of carbon, carbon-14, and determined the half-life of its beta decay into nitrogen-14 to be about 5,700 years. Following this discovery, it was further learned that carbon-14 existed in trace amounts in the atmosphere and was the natural product of cosmic radiation turning stable nitrogen to carbon-14 the upper atmosphere.
By 1947, Berkeley chemist and contributor to the Manhattan Project Williard Libby had developed a theoretical application to use naturally occurring carbon-14 to provide a method of absolute dating of organic material. The underlying principle Libby understood was that organic material, regardless of tropic level, incorporates carbon-14 into its tissue proportionate to the atmospheric ratio, since the pool of all organic carbon ultimately comes from photosynthetic carbon fixation. When that organic creature died, however, it would no longer incorporate new carbon-14 from the atmosphere, and the carbon-14 already in its tissues would decay at a fixed, known rate. It would therefore be possible to look at the ratio of carbon-14 to stable carbon in an old, organic substance, and be able to known how long ago that substance ceased being a living organism.
This discovery would have huge implications for the field of archeology. To test his theory, though, Libby would have to compare material of known age to see if the experimental data would tell the same story. Libby and his colleges sent out a call around the world for other researchers to send them organic specimens. Soon, a wealth of material began showing up at Libby’s lab – Egyptian mummy hair, lines of Peruvian rope, textiles wrappings of the Dead Sea Scrolls, mammoth bones, wood from glacial moraines, and, among them, this sandal.
The results of Libby’s radiocarbon dating showed this sandal to be 9188±48 years old, or calibrated, 10,920-9,650 BP. While the sandal is used and worn-out in some places, it’s looking pretty good for the 10,000 years it has seen. This artifact has the lucky distinction of being both an excellent example of ancient material-culture as well as part of the fascinating story of learning how to date the dead through its dying carbon.
December 6, 2015: Clinton Hart Merriam's Filing Cabinets from the Academy of Sciences
Okay, so this week's artifact of the week isn't particularly glamorous, but it pays homage to the everyday artifacts that themselves contribute to the curation of others. These filing cabinets belonged to Clinton Hart Merriam, containing the catalog cards for his basketry collection, now housed at UC Davis.
Merriam's collection is particularly valuable and unique in that Merriam kept extensive documentation of his travels and the baskets he collected, noting information such as the names of the people he bought baskets from and the native names for baskets, along with ethnographic information on the baskets' use and the culture from which the basket came. Merriam's documentation adds tremendous value to his collection, and keeping that documentation safe was the job of his filing cabinets.
As anyone who has ever lost a file can attest, when documentation isn't properly stored, the results can be disastrous. Interestingly, the story goes the Merriam actually had a pet squirrel at one point who would nest in the baskets and occasionally chew up the documentation housed within! There are a few of Merriam's baskets for which information has been lost, which may be the dastardly work of his squirrel-pet.
When Merriam's collection was transferred to UC Davis, his files came along with this filing cabinet. The records were archivally stored and placed in a more modern, sealed cabinet, which left this old, trusted guardian in need of a job. For many years, this filing cabinet served in the museum's working lab, holding various supplies needed for the ongoing task of preserving and maintaining a variety of other collections. This year, while rearranging museum space, Merriam's old guardian was returned with the rest of Merriam's collection and now holds copies of Merriam's California Travel journals, which document the exciting adventures of Merriam - adventures with records long ago stored in this very filing cabinet.
You can read more about Clinton Hart Merriam and the significance of his collection here:
http://anthromuseum.ucdavis.edu/merriam-journals.html
Okay, so this week's artifact of the week isn't particularly glamorous, but it pays homage to the everyday artifacts that themselves contribute to the curation of others. These filing cabinets belonged to Clinton Hart Merriam, containing the catalog cards for his basketry collection, now housed at UC Davis.
Merriam's collection is particularly valuable and unique in that Merriam kept extensive documentation of his travels and the baskets he collected, noting information such as the names of the people he bought baskets from and the native names for baskets, along with ethnographic information on the baskets' use and the culture from which the basket came. Merriam's documentation adds tremendous value to his collection, and keeping that documentation safe was the job of his filing cabinets.
As anyone who has ever lost a file can attest, when documentation isn't properly stored, the results can be disastrous. Interestingly, the story goes the Merriam actually had a pet squirrel at one point who would nest in the baskets and occasionally chew up the documentation housed within! There are a few of Merriam's baskets for which information has been lost, which may be the dastardly work of his squirrel-pet.
When Merriam's collection was transferred to UC Davis, his files came along with this filing cabinet. The records were archivally stored and placed in a more modern, sealed cabinet, which left this old, trusted guardian in need of a job. For many years, this filing cabinet served in the museum's working lab, holding various supplies needed for the ongoing task of preserving and maintaining a variety of other collections. This year, while rearranging museum space, Merriam's old guardian was returned with the rest of Merriam's collection and now holds copies of Merriam's California Travel journals, which document the exciting adventures of Merriam - adventures with records long ago stored in this very filing cabinet.
You can read more about Clinton Hart Merriam and the significance of his collection here:
http://anthromuseum.ucdavis.edu/merriam-journals.html
November 25, 2015: Fish Slough Clovis Point
This Clovis point was discovered during a surface survey near Fish Slough, California performed by Mark Giambastiani during research for his dissertation. Evidence for its Clovis affiliation can be seen in the triple fluting at the base. Fluting, the process of removing a medial channel flake from the base of the point, usually on both sides of the point, is a hallmark of Paleoindian period (c.a. 10,000-12,000 years ago) and served as a method to aide in the hafting of the point. On this partial point, you can see where the central flute was removed, flanked by two side flutes. The edges of this basal portion were smoothed so as to not cut into the material used to haft the point. Interestingly, this broken point also shows use-wear along the plane of breakage, perhaps repurposed as a cutting or scraping tool.
The straight-edged chunk missing from the point was taken for obsidian hydration research as part of Giambastiani’s dissertation. Since obsidian absorbs water from the air at a well-defined rate, researchers can observe how far water has penetrated a freshly exposed surface, such as through knapping, as a method to date how long ago the stone tool was made or modified. The rate of hydration can vary based on obsidian composition and temperature, so hydration rates need to be established for localities using corroborative evidence, and methods are still being refined.
Another method of research performed on this artifact was the use of X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), which uses a high-energy X-ray to eject the electrons of an atom, even the tightly held electrons of inner orbitals. When an inner-orbital electron is expelled, an electron from a higher orbital “falls” to the inner orbital, which releases energy in the form of a photon. The energy of this photon is equal to the energy difference between the two orbitals and is a telltale signature of which element the photon was released from. In this manner, XRF can inform as to the atomic composition of an object. For archaeologists studying lithic material, XRF can be used to source obsidian, as the chemical constitution of obsidian varies by source. The XRF data of this point suggests that it is from the Queen Imposter (Saline Range Variety 1) obsidian source, which was non-local to where the point was found (at least 60 miles away), with other sources being much closer.
The Paleoindian period lasted from around 12,000-10,000 years ago and the people of this time are thought to have had a focus on big-game hunting, which would have included now-extinct megafauna such as the wooly mammoth, American mastodon, American horse, American camel, giant sloth, and giant armadillo, among others. The extent of human-influence on the extinction of these species is still a matter of debate, as is the significance of other food economies, which may have been more significant than previously held. At this time, group mobility was high, and people seemed to be moving extensively across the landscape. The Clovis material culture is remarkable in its extent, covering much of North America, and its significance in the peopling of the Americas remains an exciting subject of study.
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Main: partial Clovis point with base oriented up
Left: angled view of side of point to show fluting Above: shot demonstrating photographic setup; four light sources used |
November 20, 2015: Solarized Amethyst Glass
Here’s an age-old question: how do you make glass clear? Glass has been around for a long time, but not like we know it today. The earliest known archaeological glass dates to around 3500 BCE, from Egypt and Mesopotamia, and is mainly opaque beads and ceramic glazes. Hollow glass vessels using core-molds are known from around 1600 BCE and later in Mesopotamia and Egypt, but the technique seems to have also been developing independently in Greece, China, and Tyrol (Austria). Blown glass and the use of exterior-molds, a technique developed by Syrian artisans, greatly increased the variety of glass vessels that could be produced.
As for the color of this glassware, it could vary greatly depending on the material being used. The raw material used to make glass is a mixture of formers, fluxes, and stabilizers. Formers are the bulk of the raw material, usually silicon dioxide collected as sand. Fluxes are materials used to lower the temperature at which the formers will melt, with the two main fluxes in glass production being soda (sodium carbonate) or potash (potassium carbonate). Stabilizers make the finished glass strong and resilient to water, and calcium carbonate is often used to achieve this task. Between the former, fluxes, and stabilizers, the glass’s raw material has a number of ingredients going into it, and glassmakers must have recognized that the color of their final product had something to do with the chemistry of their raw materials.
Decolorizing glass, or making it clear, was a goal that had varying degrees of success from the 7th century BCE to the 1st century CE in the Mediterranean. A method for making glass clear was eventually systematized in Alexandria, under the Roman Empire, around 100 CE and spread through the empire. The secret ingredient: manganese-rich minerals (such as pyrolusite).
We now know that pure silicate sand as a glass former has a naturally clear color when used to make glass, however iron impurities in the sand give it a range of green, blue, or yellow tints depending on the ratio of ferrous iron (blue-green in color) and ferric iron (yellow in color). Manganese dioxide (MnO2), which alone imparts a pink or red tint, oxidizes iron particles during glass making, and in its new oxidation state, iron gives only a slight yellowish hue. In its reduced state manganese dioxide is almost colorless. The result is clear glass.
While other forms of clear glass-making developed over the centuries, notably lead-crystal (which is a bit of a misnomer since glass does not actually have crystalline structure), using manganese dioxide as a decolorizer was commercially popular prior to and especially during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the mid-19th century, people were noticing a strange phenomenon in the older houses in New England, some which had been around for a few hundred years. Clear glass window panes were beginning to develop a purplish hue to them. This phenomenon of glass solarization was studied by Thomas Gaffield (1825-1900), a New England glass manufacturer, who found that it was manganese dioxide as a decolorant that had this effect and that the effect could be reversed by heating the glass.
The reason for this solarization effect is that, when exposed to sunlight, the manganese dioxide slowly becomes photo-oxidized, bringing it back from the reduced state acquired from the iron interaction, and the glass slowly grows purple in color. Reducing the glass by heating can render it clear again, but the temperature needed to do so (between 450-500 degrees Fahrenheit) is close to the point of plasticization and is not recommended for artifacts.
For glass collectors in the United States, solarized amethyst glass is sometimes seen as a sign of artefactual authenticity of early American glassware, which led some sellers to leave glassware out in exposed sunlight or even artificially bombard their artifacts with ultraviolet light. Since the solarization process is proportional to the amount of solar radiation the glass received as well as the amount of magnesium dioxide in the glass, the amount of tinting has yet to serve as an effective archaeological direct dating method, although the presence of solarized glass at all is a loose dating method. Manganese, which was largely imported from Germany, fell out of favor for domestically produced selenium around the time of the First World War, around the time of the first automated bottle machine, which favored the selenium decolorant. From around 1917-1933 selenium surpassed and all but replaced the use of manganese dioxide, which can help distinguish historical archaeology from the time period.
November 13, 2015: Yokuts Sue-u (Tule Basket), ca. 1902
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This beautiful basket, called sue-u by the Wukchumni Yokuts, was purchased by Clinton Hart Merriam on the Kaweah River near Lemon Cove in Tulare County, California on August 5, 1902. It is made from tule, a large aquatic plant in the sedge family that is common in Central Valley wetland environments. The handle, made from a cloth string, is an innovation to the design. This loosely twined basket exhibits an interesting start, in that it is not the typical cross-warped start seen on many twined baskets. Instead, the weaver takes advantage of the soft material to loop the warps together in a circular design. |
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November 6, 2015: Wintu Tel'-lek ca. 1903
For this week’s Artifact of the Week we bring you CHM-786, a large Wintu cooking bowl called “Tel’-lek”. The striking design on this basket is referred to as “luk-um-lil-ly”, meaning flying geese and is woven using a double-sided overlay technique of beargrass and red-dyed woodwardia over the primary split pine root wefts. This basket was sold to C. Hart Merriam by a Wintu woman on the McCloud River near Baird, Shasta County, California, July 22, 1903.
This basket is also featured on the cover of the newly released Indian Baskets of Northern California and Oregon by Ralph Shanks, the third volume in the Indian Baskets of California and Oregon series.
Shanks, Ralph and Lisa Woo Shanks, editor
2015 Indian Baskets of Northern California and Oregon. Published by Costano Books in association with Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin (MAPOM). MAPOM Publication Number 10, Distributed by the University of Washington Press.
For more information on C. Hart Merriam, visit his biography on our site or read some of his original journal entries.
October 30, 2015: Día de los Muertos Ofrenda
For this artifact of the week, we want to wish you a happy Día de Muertos! Here is a mock ofrenda showcasing some of our Día de Muertos artifacts. An ofrenda, “offering,” is a collection of objects placed on an altar in the home for someone who has passed away, usually associated with the holiday Día de Muertos, a day of celebration and remembrance for the deceased. While regional and familial traditions vary as to the objects and symbols placed on an ofrenda, common themes include placing objects inviting to the deceased, the use of red and orange marigolds (flor de muertos), and calaveras (representations of skulls, often made from compressed sugar).
Check out our exhibit on Día de Muertos on the third floor of Young Hall if you get a chance, and stay tuned for more on these artifacts!
Check out our exhibit on Día de Muertos on the third floor of Young Hall if you get a chance, and stay tuned for more on these artifacts!
October 23, 2015: Birchbark Boat
Provenience: ???
Usually on Artifact of the Week, we like to bring you interesting bits of material culture from around the world with a little bit of a backstory to brighten your day and broaden your horizons. But this week, we present a problem instead.
In the back rooms of every museum, you are bound to find your "problems." Maybe it's an artifact that was dropped off on your doorstep and you've yet to track down any information on it. Maybe it's a collection of artifacts that have (fortune forbid) been separated from their provenience. Or maybe it's this model canoe?
This model canoe is recorded as being from the collection of Dr. Cordell Durrell, geologist and traveler. His collection included basketry from North America as well as ceramic bowls and a dagger suspected to be from Brazil, where he spent several years. When it comes to the documentation of this model canoe, much is unknown.
While we may have some conjectures as to where it's from, we want to turn the question to our audience this week and ask if anyone knows anything about model canoes such as this and how it might fit into a cultural context. Any ideas?
Usually on Artifact of the Week, we like to bring you interesting bits of material culture from around the world with a little bit of a backstory to brighten your day and broaden your horizons. But this week, we present a problem instead.
In the back rooms of every museum, you are bound to find your "problems." Maybe it's an artifact that was dropped off on your doorstep and you've yet to track down any information on it. Maybe it's a collection of artifacts that have (fortune forbid) been separated from their provenience. Or maybe it's this model canoe?
This model canoe is recorded as being from the collection of Dr. Cordell Durrell, geologist and traveler. His collection included basketry from North America as well as ceramic bowls and a dagger suspected to be from Brazil, where he spent several years. When it comes to the documentation of this model canoe, much is unknown.
While we may have some conjectures as to where it's from, we want to turn the question to our audience this week and ask if anyone knows anything about model canoes such as this and how it might fit into a cultural context. Any ideas?
October 16, 2015: Abalone Shell Pendant
Made by former UCD Anthropology student Jeff Ferguson
One way in which archaeologists come to understand the material culture they encounter is to make it for themselves! This is part of a field called experimental archaeology, in which researchers attempt to test hypotheses about ancient technologies through replication of artifacts or processes involved with their manufacture or use. This approach to archaeology comes in many forms and scales, from testing to see if a hypothesized method for transporting the granite blocks of Stonehenge is plausible, to measuring caloric expenditure in transporting various food resources in a burden basket which could lead to understanding foraging decisions. Experimental archaeology doesn’t tell us with certainty exactly what people did in the past, but it does help develop and refine models that help us understand past behavior.
This abalone shell pendant was made by Jeff Ferguson, a former intern of the Museum, and serves as a useful teaching tool on California shell manufacture and use. The shells from marine snails such as Olivella and Dentalium, as well as clamshells, were used to make beads that were used as currency, adornment, and decoration for basketry. Shell beads were symbols of wealth in Native California, and they were traded along vast networks reaching into the Great Basin. Abalone, which were a common food of coastal groups, however, were not fashioned into small beads, but were often used to make pendants. These pendants required specific technologies to create the eyehole in which it would be attached as a decorative item. Drills of sharp stone implements were a common technology used in such production and are often used by experimental archaeologists when recreating the process. This piece of technology comes in many forms but through experimental archaeology one can infer the most precise method in producing pendants of such fine workmanship.
Experimental tool manufacture workshops periodically occur in the UCD Anthropology Department hosted by our graduate students. While you may not leave after a couple hours with something of this quality, surely you'll leave with a great appreciation for and understanding of the work that went into making something like this! Keep on the lookout for upcoming workshops.
October 9, 2015: Ceramic Matrimonial Pair from Western Mexico
Jalisco, Mexico, 300 BCE – 300 CE
This matrimonial pair is of the Ixtlan del Rio style of the Western Mexico Shaft Tomb Tradition, employing a caricaturized approach to the human form, with large heads, slender limbs, and exaggerated facial features. Adorned with nose and ear piercings, tattoos, and jewelry, these figurines likely memorialized individuals of significant social status. Objects held in the hands likely symbolize what profession or skills the subject possessed. Couples, such as this pair, are a common theme, perhaps signifying their close bond in life.
October 2, 2015: Lamellophone from the Congo
Artifact of the Week: Chisanji (Mbira), Congo
Collected in 1920s or 1930s from the Ituri Forest of the Congo by Reverend Dr. Roy Woodhams
The chisanji belongs to the class of instruments termed lamellophones (or mbira), from the Latin lamella, meaning “plate,” and the Greek phonos meaning “sound.” Evidence indicates that lamellophones were developed around 3,000 years ago in what is now Cameroon. The “keys” of these early lamellophones, called lamellae, were likely made from raffia palms, a plant used intensively in the region for fiber and other material needs. The stiffness of raffia epidermis allows pieces of its wood to resonate when struck. Musicologist Gerhard Kubik suggests, “Strips from the epidermis of a raffia stem leaf almost automatically lend themselves to discovery of the principle of the lamellophone.”
The lamellophone spread from West Africa as populations migrated. Bantu-speaking groups moving southward brought the lamellophone to Eastern and Central Africa, including the Congo, where this chisanji is from. The introduction of iron lamellae likely developed in multiple locations, including the Kantaga Area of the Congo, as iron metallurgy flourished in the early centuries of the Common Era. The refinement of the iron making process around 1000-1100 CE in Zimbabwe led to a new era in lamellophone technology, showcasing complex, multi-note instruments. From the 15th century and onwards, this advanced lamellophone technology spread from Zimbabwe into Central Africa and then beyond, carried further by Portuguese traders.
The tuning of lamellophones can vary by region, maker, intended use, and idiosyncrasies from manufacture. Unlike a Western keyboard, with notes arranged in a line from lowest to highest pitch, the lamellophone is generally arranged with the lowest notes in the middle and sequentially higher pitches alternating between the right and left sides of the lineup as you head towards the edges. This arrangement allows easy access to the lamellae as the instrument is played with the thumbs and forefingers.
Check out a song played with a lamellophone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKbfUEhjuH4
Check out a contemporary electric lamellophone in an improvisational jazz arrangement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fAAGheYTFA
Collected in 1920s or 1930s from the Ituri Forest of the Congo by Reverend Dr. Roy Woodhams
The chisanji belongs to the class of instruments termed lamellophones (or mbira), from the Latin lamella, meaning “plate,” and the Greek phonos meaning “sound.” Evidence indicates that lamellophones were developed around 3,000 years ago in what is now Cameroon. The “keys” of these early lamellophones, called lamellae, were likely made from raffia palms, a plant used intensively in the region for fiber and other material needs. The stiffness of raffia epidermis allows pieces of its wood to resonate when struck. Musicologist Gerhard Kubik suggests, “Strips from the epidermis of a raffia stem leaf almost automatically lend themselves to discovery of the principle of the lamellophone.”
The lamellophone spread from West Africa as populations migrated. Bantu-speaking groups moving southward brought the lamellophone to Eastern and Central Africa, including the Congo, where this chisanji is from. The introduction of iron lamellae likely developed in multiple locations, including the Kantaga Area of the Congo, as iron metallurgy flourished in the early centuries of the Common Era. The refinement of the iron making process around 1000-1100 CE in Zimbabwe led to a new era in lamellophone technology, showcasing complex, multi-note instruments. From the 15th century and onwards, this advanced lamellophone technology spread from Zimbabwe into Central Africa and then beyond, carried further by Portuguese traders.
The tuning of lamellophones can vary by region, maker, intended use, and idiosyncrasies from manufacture. Unlike a Western keyboard, with notes arranged in a line from lowest to highest pitch, the lamellophone is generally arranged with the lowest notes in the middle and sequentially higher pitches alternating between the right and left sides of the lineup as you head towards the edges. This arrangement allows easy access to the lamellae as the instrument is played with the thumbs and forefingers.
Check out a song played with a lamellophone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKbfUEhjuH4
Check out a contemporary electric lamellophone in an improvisational jazz arrangement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fAAGheYTFA
September 25, 2015: 'Ie Toga
Artifact of the Week: Pandanun Mat (‘Ie Toga)
Donated by Knowles Ryerson, 1963
Pandanun mats are important textiles in South Pacific cultures, and none are as important in Samoan culture as the ‘ie toga. They are displayed at important events, such as weddings and funerals, to represent the status of the host and are typically given to important guests, who in turn usually return them to their hosts. While they are often referred to as mats, this is actually an English misnomer: the ‘ie toga was always worn and never used as mat in the Western sense.
As ‘ie toga are passed down through generations, they accumulate value the longer they stay within a family, with the oldest (and thus most venerated) ones being given names. The higher rungs of traditional Samoan social status are determined by the acquisition of older, finer ‘ie toga symbolic of the status desired, with the finest, oldest, and most worn ‘ie toga reserved for chieftains and other important figures. In ceremonies where they are exchanged, women, who created the ‘ie toga, had as equal say as the men when deciding to whom the ‘ie toga were given.
Samoan mats are made from the leaves of the pandanus tree, a palm tree common to the area. Women could select from three types of pandanus: paongo, fala, and ‘ie. The large paongo leaves made for coarse floor mats, while in contrast the leaves of the fala pandanus are used for softer, finer floor mats as well as sleeping mats and mats for infants. The leaves of the ‘ie had a fine upper layer and are used to make the valuable ‘ie toga. The garments made from ‘ie leaves had unwoven fringes and were decorated with red feathers.
To make the ‘ie toga, women begin by beating the leaves into thin strips. The strips are then soaked in water and sun-bleached and can be stored for several months prior to weaving. When the leaves are ready, they are woven using two double wefts parallel to one another. As the value of the ‘ie toga is partially determined by the fineness of the weave, women could spend months or even years working on individual ‘ie toga, and having incomplete ie’ togas passed from older to younger sister was common. Completion of an ‘ie toga was marked with celebration and display of the completed ‘ie toga.
This artifact of the week was donated to the Anthropology Department by Knowles Ryerson, former Director of UC Davis from 1937-1952. While at UC Davis, Ryerson served as a special representative to the Board of Economic Warfare, Pacific Ocean Area; a member of the Pacific Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences, South Pacific Commission; a U.S. representative on the Pacific Science Council; and a member of the Hopkins Commission in 1946 to create a civilian government for Guam and Samoa.
When presented with this artifact, along with some others, at the Fifth South Pacific Conference in Pago Pago, Dean Ryerson accepted “only on the condition that [he] would present it to the Anthropology Department of the Davis campus.” By doing so, he started the South Pacific collection at UC Davis and encouraged other faculty members to donate to our teaching collections as well. Ryerson’s legacy continues as the teaching collections he sponsored continue to educate and inspire students at UC Davis.
Donated by Knowles Ryerson, 1963
Pandanun mats are important textiles in South Pacific cultures, and none are as important in Samoan culture as the ‘ie toga. They are displayed at important events, such as weddings and funerals, to represent the status of the host and are typically given to important guests, who in turn usually return them to their hosts. While they are often referred to as mats, this is actually an English misnomer: the ‘ie toga was always worn and never used as mat in the Western sense.
As ‘ie toga are passed down through generations, they accumulate value the longer they stay within a family, with the oldest (and thus most venerated) ones being given names. The higher rungs of traditional Samoan social status are determined by the acquisition of older, finer ‘ie toga symbolic of the status desired, with the finest, oldest, and most worn ‘ie toga reserved for chieftains and other important figures. In ceremonies where they are exchanged, women, who created the ‘ie toga, had as equal say as the men when deciding to whom the ‘ie toga were given.
Samoan mats are made from the leaves of the pandanus tree, a palm tree common to the area. Women could select from three types of pandanus: paongo, fala, and ‘ie. The large paongo leaves made for coarse floor mats, while in contrast the leaves of the fala pandanus are used for softer, finer floor mats as well as sleeping mats and mats for infants. The leaves of the ‘ie had a fine upper layer and are used to make the valuable ‘ie toga. The garments made from ‘ie leaves had unwoven fringes and were decorated with red feathers.
To make the ‘ie toga, women begin by beating the leaves into thin strips. The strips are then soaked in water and sun-bleached and can be stored for several months prior to weaving. When the leaves are ready, they are woven using two double wefts parallel to one another. As the value of the ‘ie toga is partially determined by the fineness of the weave, women could spend months or even years working on individual ‘ie toga, and having incomplete ie’ togas passed from older to younger sister was common. Completion of an ‘ie toga was marked with celebration and display of the completed ‘ie toga.
This artifact of the week was donated to the Anthropology Department by Knowles Ryerson, former Director of UC Davis from 1937-1952. While at UC Davis, Ryerson served as a special representative to the Board of Economic Warfare, Pacific Ocean Area; a member of the Pacific Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences, South Pacific Commission; a U.S. representative on the Pacific Science Council; and a member of the Hopkins Commission in 1946 to create a civilian government for Guam and Samoa.
When presented with this artifact, along with some others, at the Fifth South Pacific Conference in Pago Pago, Dean Ryerson accepted “only on the condition that [he] would present it to the Anthropology Department of the Davis campus.” By doing so, he started the South Pacific collection at UC Davis and encouraged other faculty members to donate to our teaching collections as well. Ryerson’s legacy continues as the teaching collections he sponsored continue to educate and inspire students at UC Davis.
September 18, 2015: Yup'ik Dolls
Artifact of the Week: Alaskan Dolls
Donated by Janet Carey, September 2015
This week, the museum received part of a donation from Janet Carey, who lived in Alaska as a child while her father, Edwin F. Carey, was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in the years just prior to Alaskan statehood. Edwin flew supplies to villages in Alaska and acquired a number of artifacts through trade and purchase during his travels.
Janet writes about these dolls, “I don’t know where my Dad got them – I got the male (seal fur) and female (rabbit fur) as a gift in the mid 1950’s. I actually played with them when we lived at Elmendorf Air Force Base. The older one was from my Dad’s sister. I believe Dad gave it to her in the 1940’s when he was stationed in the Aleutian Islands.”
Inuguat, meaning “pretend people,” are a type of doll made by the Yup’ik, and one of many forms of anthropomorphic miniatures important in Alaskan cultures. The human form in miniature has a wide range of uses and symbolism in Alaskan cultures, ranging from play to ceremony. This type of play doll could be made from wood, ivory, bone, leather, or fur. Here, we see Janet’s two dolls with faces of leather and her aunt’s doll with a face of wood.
Inuguat were usually part of a family of five comprised of a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, and a baby. Girls would give names their inuguat, which often had changes of clothes along with other miniature possessions. Once a girl reached puberty, it was common for her to pass the inuguat on to a younger child. There was a strong tradition of not taking the dolls outside during the winter, for it was believed to prolong the cold season.
Janet has donated this collection on behalf of her family in memory of her father. Much thanks for the beautiful display of Alaskan culture, full of warm memories of childhood to ward off the cold winter months.
Donated by Janet Carey, September 2015
This week, the museum received part of a donation from Janet Carey, who lived in Alaska as a child while her father, Edwin F. Carey, was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in the years just prior to Alaskan statehood. Edwin flew supplies to villages in Alaska and acquired a number of artifacts through trade and purchase during his travels.
Janet writes about these dolls, “I don’t know where my Dad got them – I got the male (seal fur) and female (rabbit fur) as a gift in the mid 1950’s. I actually played with them when we lived at Elmendorf Air Force Base. The older one was from my Dad’s sister. I believe Dad gave it to her in the 1940’s when he was stationed in the Aleutian Islands.”
Inuguat, meaning “pretend people,” are a type of doll made by the Yup’ik, and one of many forms of anthropomorphic miniatures important in Alaskan cultures. The human form in miniature has a wide range of uses and symbolism in Alaskan cultures, ranging from play to ceremony. This type of play doll could be made from wood, ivory, bone, leather, or fur. Here, we see Janet’s two dolls with faces of leather and her aunt’s doll with a face of wood.
Inuguat were usually part of a family of five comprised of a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, and a baby. Girls would give names their inuguat, which often had changes of clothes along with other miniature possessions. Once a girl reached puberty, it was common for her to pass the inuguat on to a younger child. There was a strong tradition of not taking the dolls outside during the winter, for it was believed to prolong the cold season.
Janet has donated this collection on behalf of her family in memory of her father. Much thanks for the beautiful display of Alaskan culture, full of warm memories of childhood to ward off the cold winter months.
September 11, 2015: Ta'-Wit (Cooking Basket)
Artifact of the Week: Cooking Basket (Ta’-Wit)
Collected by Clinton Hart Merriam near Fresno Flat, Madera County on September 21, 1902
375 x 165 mm
Almost 113 years ago to this day, Clinton Hart Merriam was traveling the California Central Valley documenting the lives of the native peoples he encountered, where he happened upon this cooking basket. Concerning the basket he writes:
“Purchased by me from an old Chuk-chancy women named Cha-la’-kit near her camp near China Creek, 4.5 miles above Fresno Flat, Madera Co., September 21, 1902. It looks like a Paiute [basket] and I believe it is.”
Analysis of the basket today, with more complete knowledge of California’s ethnographic basketry distributions, shows Merriam to be correct in his suspicions of its origin. The leftward work direction of the basket combined with its grass bundle foundation is a somewhat unusual combination in the region and is characteristic of the Western Mono, a neighboring group. The trading of basketry was common, though, and it is not too surprising for Merriam to have found this basket among the Chukchansi.
This particular basket is written about in Clinton Hart Merriam’s travel journals and also appears in a picture he took of Chalakit near her home. In the picture we see Chalakit finishing the splitting of an acorn with her teeth as a sleepy dog lies next to her, partially obscured by a winnower and awl that seem all too arranged in their placement. A small chick stands in the foreground and a larger hen walks by in the background, giving a sense of daily motion to the otherwise arranged shot. On the right side of the frame sits our basket in question, the same chunk missing from the rim then as it is now.
In Merriam’s journal account of the visit:
“On returning [from visiting a band of Chowchilla Miwok], I walked 4 ½ miles to a Chuck-chancy camp on China Creek, but found no one at home, and followed fresh bare-foot tracks 2 miles farther, but failed to catch up with or find any Indians, making a 13 mile walk, on top of a 3 mile one (or 16 miles in all) for nothing, so far as learning anything of the Chuck-chancys is concerned. Their camp consists of 2 rough board houses on adjacent knolls, a long rectangular…“dance” house, and 3 summer brush huts or wickiups in the chaparral nearby. These huts are about 15 ft. in diameter by 7 in height and are completely domed and closed in … except a small opening left on one side for entrance. They are made of tall brush… some of which is alive and growing and was simply arched over and intertwined with the rest.
In the occupied [house] were three playful puppies and many chickens. There were both inside and out plenty of rough baskets, mainly cham’as and het-els, and 1 very old “Fresno” bowl with good design and ½ full of flour paste – which they eat in the camps till the acorn mush is ready – and afterward also for all I know… [This referenced bowl is our basket in question.]
“In the afternoon I got a horse and went back to the Indian camp and had better luck. Found at the best wickiup an old couple of pure Chuk-chancy Indians both of whom speak some English. They were civil and kind and became much interested as I talked to them. The old man is known to the whites at Fresno Flat as Captain Blucher. His Indian name is Wall-lo-ma; his wife’s name Cha-la-kit.
“She had a burden-basket full of fine fat acorns of the black oak they had gathered today, and was sitting on the ground cracking them open when I arrived. She split the shells by hammering between two stone in the usual manner, and then invariably used her teeth to help tear the split shell open so as to get out the meat. Probably this was necessitated by the very green condition of the acorns, as I have never seen it done before. She allowed me to photograph her in the act of opening the acorns, and both she and the old man stood for me at the entrance of the wickiup which I took their pictures.
“I bought the old basket mentioned… and also a circular winnower and bone awl, and a soaproot brush. Nearby, in a big flattish rock near the stream are a number of mortar holes and old pestles, and the old man told me of another batch a little farther up. He told me that the Chuk-chancys never lived in the country north of Fresno River, but south of the river inhabited a broad strip, of which his camp (4 miles above Fresno Flat) is near the upper limit. From here they ranged down, between the Fresno and the San Joaquin (and probably further south). They went up into the mountains to hunt and fish in summer, and moved down to their permanent camps in winter. The Mew’-wah were their neighbors on the north.
“Within his recollection the Chuk-chancys were a numerous tribe. They kept the brush burnt out of the flat parts of the valley and wild oats were thick and tall. Grizzly Bear and various kinds of game abounded. Now his people have died off so fast very few are left.”
Merriam’s writings express his concern about the disappearing lifeways and languages of Native California, as well as his general concern for the people he encountered. On this visit, Merriam also collected a few pages of linguistic data from the elderly couple that he met. In terms of both basketry traditions and language, Merriam’s work continues to be a source of information about the cultures he encountered and has been used in efforts to revitalize languages and weaving practices.
Merriam’s work also shows the value of good artifact documentation. From his accounts, we have a 113 year old picture of this basket, the name of the weaver, the native name for the basket, and a variety of information surround its use and collection. So if you happen to be in a business where you collect things, take a page from Merriam’s journals and document, document, document!
Collected by Clinton Hart Merriam near Fresno Flat, Madera County on September 21, 1902
375 x 165 mm
Almost 113 years ago to this day, Clinton Hart Merriam was traveling the California Central Valley documenting the lives of the native peoples he encountered, where he happened upon this cooking basket. Concerning the basket he writes:
“Purchased by me from an old Chuk-chancy women named Cha-la’-kit near her camp near China Creek, 4.5 miles above Fresno Flat, Madera Co., September 21, 1902. It looks like a Paiute [basket] and I believe it is.”
Analysis of the basket today, with more complete knowledge of California’s ethnographic basketry distributions, shows Merriam to be correct in his suspicions of its origin. The leftward work direction of the basket combined with its grass bundle foundation is a somewhat unusual combination in the region and is characteristic of the Western Mono, a neighboring group. The trading of basketry was common, though, and it is not too surprising for Merriam to have found this basket among the Chukchansi.
This particular basket is written about in Clinton Hart Merriam’s travel journals and also appears in a picture he took of Chalakit near her home. In the picture we see Chalakit finishing the splitting of an acorn with her teeth as a sleepy dog lies next to her, partially obscured by a winnower and awl that seem all too arranged in their placement. A small chick stands in the foreground and a larger hen walks by in the background, giving a sense of daily motion to the otherwise arranged shot. On the right side of the frame sits our basket in question, the same chunk missing from the rim then as it is now.
In Merriam’s journal account of the visit:
“On returning [from visiting a band of Chowchilla Miwok], I walked 4 ½ miles to a Chuck-chancy camp on China Creek, but found no one at home, and followed fresh bare-foot tracks 2 miles farther, but failed to catch up with or find any Indians, making a 13 mile walk, on top of a 3 mile one (or 16 miles in all) for nothing, so far as learning anything of the Chuck-chancys is concerned. Their camp consists of 2 rough board houses on adjacent knolls, a long rectangular…“dance” house, and 3 summer brush huts or wickiups in the chaparral nearby. These huts are about 15 ft. in diameter by 7 in height and are completely domed and closed in … except a small opening left on one side for entrance. They are made of tall brush… some of which is alive and growing and was simply arched over and intertwined with the rest.
In the occupied [house] were three playful puppies and many chickens. There were both inside and out plenty of rough baskets, mainly cham’as and het-els, and 1 very old “Fresno” bowl with good design and ½ full of flour paste – which they eat in the camps till the acorn mush is ready – and afterward also for all I know… [This referenced bowl is our basket in question.]
“In the afternoon I got a horse and went back to the Indian camp and had better luck. Found at the best wickiup an old couple of pure Chuk-chancy Indians both of whom speak some English. They were civil and kind and became much interested as I talked to them. The old man is known to the whites at Fresno Flat as Captain Blucher. His Indian name is Wall-lo-ma; his wife’s name Cha-la-kit.
“She had a burden-basket full of fine fat acorns of the black oak they had gathered today, and was sitting on the ground cracking them open when I arrived. She split the shells by hammering between two stone in the usual manner, and then invariably used her teeth to help tear the split shell open so as to get out the meat. Probably this was necessitated by the very green condition of the acorns, as I have never seen it done before. She allowed me to photograph her in the act of opening the acorns, and both she and the old man stood for me at the entrance of the wickiup which I took their pictures.
“I bought the old basket mentioned… and also a circular winnower and bone awl, and a soaproot brush. Nearby, in a big flattish rock near the stream are a number of mortar holes and old pestles, and the old man told me of another batch a little farther up. He told me that the Chuk-chancys never lived in the country north of Fresno River, but south of the river inhabited a broad strip, of which his camp (4 miles above Fresno Flat) is near the upper limit. From here they ranged down, between the Fresno and the San Joaquin (and probably further south). They went up into the mountains to hunt and fish in summer, and moved down to their permanent camps in winter. The Mew’-wah were their neighbors on the north.
“Within his recollection the Chuk-chancys were a numerous tribe. They kept the brush burnt out of the flat parts of the valley and wild oats were thick and tall. Grizzly Bear and various kinds of game abounded. Now his people have died off so fast very few are left.”
Merriam’s writings express his concern about the disappearing lifeways and languages of Native California, as well as his general concern for the people he encountered. On this visit, Merriam also collected a few pages of linguistic data from the elderly couple that he met. In terms of both basketry traditions and language, Merriam’s work continues to be a source of information about the cultures he encountered and has been used in efforts to revitalize languages and weaving practices.
Merriam’s work also shows the value of good artifact documentation. From his accounts, we have a 113 year old picture of this basket, the name of the weaver, the native name for the basket, and a variety of information surround its use and collection. So if you happen to be in a business where you collect things, take a page from Merriam’s journals and document, document, document!
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Baskets from picture on left, 113 years later
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September 3, 2015: Phillipine Fire Piston
Artifact of the Week: Fire Piston
Cabanatuan, Luzon, Philippines
Collected in WWII by Dr. Earnest Head, Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis
This fire piston, made from horn, was collected by former UC Davis professor Earnest Head, from the Agriculture Engineering Department during World War II and later donated to the museum. According to Dr. Head, it was used to light cigarettes and originally came with kapok tinder. The indentation on the side of the exterior chamber was used to hold wax, which was used to grease the tape piston.
Fire pistons are a form of fire-starting technology that use adiabatic compression of air to flash heat the interior chamber to temperatures in which kindling can catch. By slamming the interior piston, sealed air-tight, into the exterior casing, the air inside the chamber makes up for the loss of volume with increases in both pressure and temperature, as described by the ideal gas law [PV=nRT]. The interior rod is quickly withdrawn and the lit kindling tended to. This makes the fire piston a quick, easy, and reusable way to start a fire.
The fire piston was used aboriginally by people of South East Asia and the Pacific islands, who used this technology long before the ideal gas law was formalized. An overlap in the distribution of fire piston technology and blowgun technology has led some to speculate that they might be related in origin, as both require the making of hollowed chambers. Perhaps the fire-starting capacity of adiabatic compression was first recognized when smoothing the interior chamber of a blowgun during manufacture.
Interestingly enough, the modern European version of the fire piston was also related to gun technology. In 1745, Father Augustin Ruffo, Conservator of the Cabinet of Natural Philosophy in Rome, was experimenting with an air gun that needed a wooden plug inserted into the barrel of the gun before compressing air with a piston to charge the shot. Smelling smoldering wood, he realized that the plug, the only wooden piece on the gun, had been burning as a result of the air compression. From this experiment, he developed a fire starter, which would later be made from glass and used as a parlor trick throughout Europe.
Fire pistons represent a type of technology that takes advantage of a basic natural law to perform a common, useful task, which makes the potential for independent innovation quite high. But also in the case of fire pistons, day-to-day experiences do not make it completely intuitive that quickly compressing air has the potential to start a fire. Resultantly, as a technology, fire pistons have probably given our species a good deal of “holy crap, look at this!” moments.
What temperatures can fire pistons achieve? Find out!
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0031-9120/45/4/F04/pdf
Cabanatuan, Luzon, Philippines
Collected in WWII by Dr. Earnest Head, Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis
This fire piston, made from horn, was collected by former UC Davis professor Earnest Head, from the Agriculture Engineering Department during World War II and later donated to the museum. According to Dr. Head, it was used to light cigarettes and originally came with kapok tinder. The indentation on the side of the exterior chamber was used to hold wax, which was used to grease the tape piston.
Fire pistons are a form of fire-starting technology that use adiabatic compression of air to flash heat the interior chamber to temperatures in which kindling can catch. By slamming the interior piston, sealed air-tight, into the exterior casing, the air inside the chamber makes up for the loss of volume with increases in both pressure and temperature, as described by the ideal gas law [PV=nRT]. The interior rod is quickly withdrawn and the lit kindling tended to. This makes the fire piston a quick, easy, and reusable way to start a fire.
The fire piston was used aboriginally by people of South East Asia and the Pacific islands, who used this technology long before the ideal gas law was formalized. An overlap in the distribution of fire piston technology and blowgun technology has led some to speculate that they might be related in origin, as both require the making of hollowed chambers. Perhaps the fire-starting capacity of adiabatic compression was first recognized when smoothing the interior chamber of a blowgun during manufacture.
Interestingly enough, the modern European version of the fire piston was also related to gun technology. In 1745, Father Augustin Ruffo, Conservator of the Cabinet of Natural Philosophy in Rome, was experimenting with an air gun that needed a wooden plug inserted into the barrel of the gun before compressing air with a piston to charge the shot. Smelling smoldering wood, he realized that the plug, the only wooden piece on the gun, had been burning as a result of the air compression. From this experiment, he developed a fire starter, which would later be made from glass and used as a parlor trick throughout Europe.
Fire pistons represent a type of technology that takes advantage of a basic natural law to perform a common, useful task, which makes the potential for independent innovation quite high. But also in the case of fire pistons, day-to-day experiences do not make it completely intuitive that quickly compressing air has the potential to start a fire. Resultantly, as a technology, fire pistons have probably given our species a good deal of “holy crap, look at this!” moments.
What temperatures can fire pistons achieve? Find out!
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0031-9120/45/4/F04/pdf
August 27, 2015: Muskrat Skin Pouch
Artifact of the Week: Muskrat Skin Pouch
41 x 11.5 cm (without attachments)
Collected by C.H. Merriam. Possibly Northern Plains in origin.
“Oh. Wow. That’s an interesting…bag you got there?”
Why thank you. This skin pouch is made from a muskrat skin. An entire muskrat skin. Collected by Clinton Hart Merriam, his description of the artifact reads as follows:
“Pouch is made of the dehaired skin of a muskrat, hair side out. Head, feet, and a portion of the tail are attached. The mouth and a slit in the neck serve as the opening. The slit is edged and strengthened by a triangular insert of buckskin. The opening is gathered by a hide thong. Pouch is lined with cotton cloth. Dangles are attached to all four feet, consisting of a looped hide thong at each foot that has two porcupine quill wrapped ends to which a tin cone is attached. Porcupine quills are undyed, dyed red, and dyed yellow.
There is a circular insert of the same skin at the back, below the head, that is 9.5 cm in diameter, stitched in with sinew.”
Native repairs on the artifact include the round insert on the back and a five-centimeter-long sinew stitched seam in the right hind leg, showing that this bag was used. Bags made from the full skins of animals were not uncommon among the native peoples of the Northern Great Plains, and depending on the type, could have been used as medicine bags or as berry collecting bags.
This particular bag, with its ornamentation, resembles a type of medicine bag documented by Swiss artist Karl Bodmer, who was recruited by Prince Alexander Philipp Maximilian to document the natural and cultural worlds of North America on an expedition led by the prince himself from 1832-1834.
Check out the resemblance of this artifact to Bodmer’s work:
http://www.wodfriends.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/skunk_pouch-medicine_bag.jpg
41 x 11.5 cm (without attachments)
Collected by C.H. Merriam. Possibly Northern Plains in origin.
“Oh. Wow. That’s an interesting…bag you got there?”
Why thank you. This skin pouch is made from a muskrat skin. An entire muskrat skin. Collected by Clinton Hart Merriam, his description of the artifact reads as follows:
“Pouch is made of the dehaired skin of a muskrat, hair side out. Head, feet, and a portion of the tail are attached. The mouth and a slit in the neck serve as the opening. The slit is edged and strengthened by a triangular insert of buckskin. The opening is gathered by a hide thong. Pouch is lined with cotton cloth. Dangles are attached to all four feet, consisting of a looped hide thong at each foot that has two porcupine quill wrapped ends to which a tin cone is attached. Porcupine quills are undyed, dyed red, and dyed yellow.
There is a circular insert of the same skin at the back, below the head, that is 9.5 cm in diameter, stitched in with sinew.”
Native repairs on the artifact include the round insert on the back and a five-centimeter-long sinew stitched seam in the right hind leg, showing that this bag was used. Bags made from the full skins of animals were not uncommon among the native peoples of the Northern Great Plains, and depending on the type, could have been used as medicine bags or as berry collecting bags.
This particular bag, with its ornamentation, resembles a type of medicine bag documented by Swiss artist Karl Bodmer, who was recruited by Prince Alexander Philipp Maximilian to document the natural and cultural worlds of North America on an expedition led by the prince himself from 1832-1834.
Check out the resemblance of this artifact to Bodmer’s work:
http://www.wodfriends.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/skunk_pouch-medicine_bag.jpg
August 20, 2015: Naylamp Effigy Vessel
Lambayeque, Peru
Middle Horizon to Late Intermediate 800 CE - 1370 CE
12 x 15 x 18 cm
Ceramics of the Sicán civilization, sometimes called the Labayeque after the modern region they lived in, possessed a distinctive style, representing a rich history and ideology. Spouted vessels, such as this one, are often adorned with the image of what many anthropologists have called the Sicán Deity or the legendary hero Naylamp.
Legend tells that Naylamp arrived on the shores of Peru on a raft of balsa, though accounts vary as from where he came. There, he founded a large city from which twelve of his grandsons set out and founded each a city of their own. It is said that when Naylamp passed from this world, he sprouted wings and flew off into another world. Due to this legend, early depictions of Naylamp portray him with bird-like features but he is more often recognized in the form observed in this spout and handle bottle, with almond-shaped eyes and a prominent pointed nose.
Are there some intersections between mythology and science here? DNA evidence of tomb burials and haplotype distributions suggests a multiethnic makeup of the Sicán polity, which likely absorbed Moche people as it grew, which could be consistent with the arrival of a new group of people to the region, perhaps, as the legend tells, by sea. Furthermore, the political structure of the civilization was not one of empire but of a network of cities linked by ruling bloodlines, reminiscent of Naylamp’s twelve grandsons. Perhaps there are some hints at archaeological truths buried in the legends of the region.
Regardless, Naylamp became a powerful icon of the Sicán, used as a major artistic theme throughout the Sicán period. The art and architecture of the Sicán indicate a deeply religious polity, with political power passed and sustained by a ritualized theocracy with the Deity of Sicán at the core.
A period of sustained drought saw the downfall of some of Sicán’s major centers, such as Batán Grande, around 1100 CE. Some have even claimed that the Sicán represent a case in which climatic failure resulted in observable changes in religious practices from pre-disaster to post-disaster. Whether weakened by a loss of trust in the theocratic political order as a mediator of natural processes or by drought alone, the Sicán were conquered by the Chimú around 1375 and many of the artists of the tradition that gave us a peak into the world of the Sicán were forcibly removed to Chan Chan, the capital of their conquerors. Through their efforts, though, the story of Naylamp lived on among the Chimú.
Middle Horizon to Late Intermediate 800 CE - 1370 CE
12 x 15 x 18 cm
Ceramics of the Sicán civilization, sometimes called the Labayeque after the modern region they lived in, possessed a distinctive style, representing a rich history and ideology. Spouted vessels, such as this one, are often adorned with the image of what many anthropologists have called the Sicán Deity or the legendary hero Naylamp.
Legend tells that Naylamp arrived on the shores of Peru on a raft of balsa, though accounts vary as from where he came. There, he founded a large city from which twelve of his grandsons set out and founded each a city of their own. It is said that when Naylamp passed from this world, he sprouted wings and flew off into another world. Due to this legend, early depictions of Naylamp portray him with bird-like features but he is more often recognized in the form observed in this spout and handle bottle, with almond-shaped eyes and a prominent pointed nose.
Are there some intersections between mythology and science here? DNA evidence of tomb burials and haplotype distributions suggests a multiethnic makeup of the Sicán polity, which likely absorbed Moche people as it grew, which could be consistent with the arrival of a new group of people to the region, perhaps, as the legend tells, by sea. Furthermore, the political structure of the civilization was not one of empire but of a network of cities linked by ruling bloodlines, reminiscent of Naylamp’s twelve grandsons. Perhaps there are some hints at archaeological truths buried in the legends of the region.
Regardless, Naylamp became a powerful icon of the Sicán, used as a major artistic theme throughout the Sicán period. The art and architecture of the Sicán indicate a deeply religious polity, with political power passed and sustained by a ritualized theocracy with the Deity of Sicán at the core.
A period of sustained drought saw the downfall of some of Sicán’s major centers, such as Batán Grande, around 1100 CE. Some have even claimed that the Sicán represent a case in which climatic failure resulted in observable changes in religious practices from pre-disaster to post-disaster. Whether weakened by a loss of trust in the theocratic political order as a mediator of natural processes or by drought alone, the Sicán were conquered by the Chimú around 1375 and many of the artists of the tradition that gave us a peak into the world of the Sicán were forcibly removed to Chan Chan, the capital of their conquerors. Through their efforts, though, the story of Naylamp lived on among the Chimú.
August 14, 2015: Geta
Karankoron karankoron karankoron. The sound of geta in motion. Cicadas call the last days of summer. It is a sound from Old Japan, simple and sweet. Beautiful in the way an every-day sort of sound becomes not-so-everyday.
While geta are still used in Japan, during festivals and for certain occupations, nostalgia for the sound of geta on city streets is not uncommon among the older generation. Long before the late 20th century adoption of platform shoes as a fashion statement, elevated shoes were developed by various cultures around the world in order to keep wearers and their clothes off the dirt from the streets. This was the case in Japan as well, where the style of dress included long yukata or kimono that fell to about foot level. Normally, the wooden slats that elevate the shoe, called ha (teeth), could be 4-5 cm high to keep garments clean, but geta for walking in rain could be around 10 cm high. Various professions that dealt with particularly messy floors, such as a fishmonger in a market, would often have higher geta with higher teeth. Some of these geta reach up to 17 cm high. The geta seen here have teeth heights of about 3 and 9 centimeters, for the child and adult pair respectively.
The thong-type sandal, gripped between the first and second toe, likely entered Japan from southern China and Southeast Asia. The predecessor of the geta, the tageta, goes as far back as the Yayoi period around 2,000 years ago. Tageta were made of boards much larger than the foot, somewhat like snowshoes, and were used by rice farmers to keep their feet from sinking into the mud. During the Heian Period (794 – 1192 C.E.), during the growth of a distinct Japanese culture, geta and zori, (unelevated sandals made from rice straw or lacquered wood) took foot.
To this day, shoe cupboards in a home’s genkan (entrance hallway) are still called getabako (geta box). In Japanese custom, shoes must be removed prior to entering a home, temple, or traditional restaurant. Many restaurants and homeowners have slippers for their guests to use, including separate slippers for the bathroom. The division between the dirty reality of the outside world and the inner sanctity of the home is apparent in both Japanese custom and material culture.
The next time you hear the sound of flip-flops smacking into the back of heels or lazily dragging across the ground during a California summer, don’t be annoyed. Enjoy the simple beauty of it. Perhaps there will be a day when you are older where flip-flops are a thing of the past, and you may look back with fond nostalgia. Just don’t wear those flip-flops in the house.
While geta are still used in Japan, during festivals and for certain occupations, nostalgia for the sound of geta on city streets is not uncommon among the older generation. Long before the late 20th century adoption of platform shoes as a fashion statement, elevated shoes were developed by various cultures around the world in order to keep wearers and their clothes off the dirt from the streets. This was the case in Japan as well, where the style of dress included long yukata or kimono that fell to about foot level. Normally, the wooden slats that elevate the shoe, called ha (teeth), could be 4-5 cm high to keep garments clean, but geta for walking in rain could be around 10 cm high. Various professions that dealt with particularly messy floors, such as a fishmonger in a market, would often have higher geta with higher teeth. Some of these geta reach up to 17 cm high. The geta seen here have teeth heights of about 3 and 9 centimeters, for the child and adult pair respectively.
The thong-type sandal, gripped between the first and second toe, likely entered Japan from southern China and Southeast Asia. The predecessor of the geta, the tageta, goes as far back as the Yayoi period around 2,000 years ago. Tageta were made of boards much larger than the foot, somewhat like snowshoes, and were used by rice farmers to keep their feet from sinking into the mud. During the Heian Period (794 – 1192 C.E.), during the growth of a distinct Japanese culture, geta and zori, (unelevated sandals made from rice straw or lacquered wood) took foot.
To this day, shoe cupboards in a home’s genkan (entrance hallway) are still called getabako (geta box). In Japanese custom, shoes must be removed prior to entering a home, temple, or traditional restaurant. Many restaurants and homeowners have slippers for their guests to use, including separate slippers for the bathroom. The division between the dirty reality of the outside world and the inner sanctity of the home is apparent in both Japanese custom and material culture.
The next time you hear the sound of flip-flops smacking into the back of heels or lazily dragging across the ground during a California summer, don’t be annoyed. Enjoy the simple beauty of it. Perhaps there will be a day when you are older where flip-flops are a thing of the past, and you may look back with fond nostalgia. Just don’t wear those flip-flops in the house.
August 6, 2015: Southern Sierra Miwok Too-poo-lah
This exquisite Southern Sierra Miwok basket was purchased by C. Hart Merriam September 19, 1902 at a Chowchilla camp in Chowchilla Canyon from the woman who made it.
Merriam, one of California's leading ethnographers, was deeply interested in preserving the native languages of California during the early part of the twentieth century. In addition to recording extensive vocabularies, he made an effort to learn and record the native words for the baskets he purchased or was given by the people he had met.
In Merriam's own words:
The "too-poo-lah [is a] sieve or filter for making manzanita cider (e-soo-tak). It is filled with broken manzanita berries (a-yeh), wetted, [and] suspended from a limb by a cord or thong. The broken berries are then sprinkled with water by the fingers until a sufficient quantity of clear delicious cider has filtered through." In 1902, the Chowchilla camp visited by Merriam, was "headquarters for the round deep scoop of openwork called too-poo-lah."
This basket exhibits a distinctive deep-scoop shape unique to the Southern Sierra Miwok culture. During construction of this basket, the weaver alternated her workface, switching between the interior and exterior of the basket with each new weft row. This is a technique commonly used in construction of twined open-work baskets such as these as well as the fine circular winnowers, het' al', we see throughout California.
The start of this basket is a fan-shaped start with a twined mat above it. At the center of the mat is a diamond pattern beautifully woven with commercial string in a bound weave. The basket is diagonally twined with a slant of weft that is up to the right.
The rim finish is formed by gathering the warps into transverse bundles and lashing them down with the weft material. Although much stronger than they appear, these baskets tend to take a beating. A reinforcing rod secured to the rim helps to maintain the basket's shape and integrity during use. There is also a handle of commercial cloth attached to the basket start, intended to aid in hanging. To complete the basket, the weaver carefully concealed the end of the last weft row in the warp bundle, an example of the exquisite craftsmanship and meticulous skill of Southern Sierra Miwok basketry weavers.
Special thanks to Peter Crook, long-time Museum volunteer and Merriam enthusiast, for the transcription of the above passage of C. Hart Merriam's journal. Unfortunately, as many have learned, Merriam's handwriting was not the most legible. He was, after all, a medically trained doctor. We appreciate the men and women who volunteer their time to make Merriam's writings more accessible to others. Thank you Peter!
Want to learn more about the basketry terminology used above and how to identify and analyze ethnographic basketry yourself? Keep on the lookout for our upcoming course, ANT 186A: Museum Studies-Analysis of Native American Basketry, Spring quarter 2016, where you will have the rare opportunity to work with California basketry scholar Ralph Shanks!
Merriam, one of California's leading ethnographers, was deeply interested in preserving the native languages of California during the early part of the twentieth century. In addition to recording extensive vocabularies, he made an effort to learn and record the native words for the baskets he purchased or was given by the people he had met.
In Merriam's own words:
The "too-poo-lah [is a] sieve or filter for making manzanita cider (e-soo-tak). It is filled with broken manzanita berries (a-yeh), wetted, [and] suspended from a limb by a cord or thong. The broken berries are then sprinkled with water by the fingers until a sufficient quantity of clear delicious cider has filtered through." In 1902, the Chowchilla camp visited by Merriam, was "headquarters for the round deep scoop of openwork called too-poo-lah."
This basket exhibits a distinctive deep-scoop shape unique to the Southern Sierra Miwok culture. During construction of this basket, the weaver alternated her workface, switching between the interior and exterior of the basket with each new weft row. This is a technique commonly used in construction of twined open-work baskets such as these as well as the fine circular winnowers, het' al', we see throughout California.
The start of this basket is a fan-shaped start with a twined mat above it. At the center of the mat is a diamond pattern beautifully woven with commercial string in a bound weave. The basket is diagonally twined with a slant of weft that is up to the right.
The rim finish is formed by gathering the warps into transverse bundles and lashing them down with the weft material. Although much stronger than they appear, these baskets tend to take a beating. A reinforcing rod secured to the rim helps to maintain the basket's shape and integrity during use. There is also a handle of commercial cloth attached to the basket start, intended to aid in hanging. To complete the basket, the weaver carefully concealed the end of the last weft row in the warp bundle, an example of the exquisite craftsmanship and meticulous skill of Southern Sierra Miwok basketry weavers.
Special thanks to Peter Crook, long-time Museum volunteer and Merriam enthusiast, for the transcription of the above passage of C. Hart Merriam's journal. Unfortunately, as many have learned, Merriam's handwriting was not the most legible. He was, after all, a medically trained doctor. We appreciate the men and women who volunteer their time to make Merriam's writings more accessible to others. Thank you Peter!
Want to learn more about the basketry terminology used above and how to identify and analyze ethnographic basketry yourself? Keep on the lookout for our upcoming course, ANT 186A: Museum Studies-Analysis of Native American Basketry, Spring quarter 2016, where you will have the rare opportunity to work with California basketry scholar Ralph Shanks!
July 31, 2015: Soaproot Brushes
These soaproot brushes were collected by Clinton Hart Merriam on his travels through California in the early 20th century. Soaproot, Chlorogalum sp., has elongated underground bulbs surrounded by tough fibers. These fibers are used to make brushes like the ones seen here.
The fibers are arranged in the same direction and bound temporarily with a twig. Cordage is then used to bind the fibers together and make a handle. The bulb of the soaproot plant is crushed up to make an adhesive, which is applied thoroughly to the handle and left to sit in the sun for a few days, giving it the hardness and lacquered texture. Pine pitch could also be used instead of the soaproot adhesive.
Brushes like these were useful for cleaning out the hard-to-reach nooks on the surface of baskets, where acorn meal or mush could get stuck, and they were a valuable part of a basketry set. Additionally, soaproot brushes were used as hair brushes.
Soaproot had a number of applications. Besides being used as an adhesive, soaproot was used as a toxin to stun fish, as it contains chemicals that inhibit the uptake of oxygen by a fish’s gills. Mashed-up soaproot bulbs were thrown into a body of water and the stunned fish were collected as they rose to the surface. Soaproot was also used for food, medicine, and (unsurprisingly) soap.
The fibers are arranged in the same direction and bound temporarily with a twig. Cordage is then used to bind the fibers together and make a handle. The bulb of the soaproot plant is crushed up to make an adhesive, which is applied thoroughly to the handle and left to sit in the sun for a few days, giving it the hardness and lacquered texture. Pine pitch could also be used instead of the soaproot adhesive.
Brushes like these were useful for cleaning out the hard-to-reach nooks on the surface of baskets, where acorn meal or mush could get stuck, and they were a valuable part of a basketry set. Additionally, soaproot brushes were used as hair brushes.
Soaproot had a number of applications. Besides being used as an adhesive, soaproot was used as a toxin to stun fish, as it contains chemicals that inhibit the uptake of oxygen by a fish’s gills. Mashed-up soaproot bulbs were thrown into a body of water and the stunned fish were collected as they rose to the surface. Soaproot was also used for food, medicine, and (unsurprisingly) soap.
July 23, 2015: Casarones Composite
The ruins of Caserones, a prehistoric village occupied intermittently from around 300 B.C.E to around 1100 CE, sits high in the Chilean altiplano (high elevation plain). Built along a ravine with a river to provide irrigation for the agriculturalists occupants, the surrounding region is highly arid, making for great preservation.
The remains of the walls suggest that Caserones contained a sprawling architecture of buildings surrounded by a large, “D-shaped” defense wall. Among the many artifacts recovered are a number of well-preserved textiles and organic material dating much older than the taphonomy of less arid environments would allow. Some of the textile hats, for instance, have radio-carbon dates suggesting ages around 1,000 years before present.
While textiles do not preserve well in other environments, we can sometimes still indirectly observe them through other processes, such as though the impressions they leave on clay and ceramic prior to firing.
But this week we ask, why not both?
This week’s artifact of the week is an interesting arrangement of organic material and impressions in a sediment matrix.
Can you spot these features?
-Maize Cob
-A thick piece of organic cordage
-Dyed cordage in white and black (frayed)
-Impression of maize
-Impression of textile
-Flecks of maize
The remains of the walls suggest that Caserones contained a sprawling architecture of buildings surrounded by a large, “D-shaped” defense wall. Among the many artifacts recovered are a number of well-preserved textiles and organic material dating much older than the taphonomy of less arid environments would allow. Some of the textile hats, for instance, have radio-carbon dates suggesting ages around 1,000 years before present.
While textiles do not preserve well in other environments, we can sometimes still indirectly observe them through other processes, such as though the impressions they leave on clay and ceramic prior to firing.
But this week we ask, why not both?
This week’s artifact of the week is an interesting arrangement of organic material and impressions in a sediment matrix.
Can you spot these features?
-Maize Cob
-A thick piece of organic cordage
-Dyed cordage in white and black (frayed)
-Impression of maize
-Impression of textile
-Flecks of maize
July 16, 2015: Tachi Yokuts Waterbottle
Tulare Lake, California
Basket purchased June 5, 1903 by Clinton Hart Merriam
Diameter: 195 mm; Height: 250 mm
Clinton Hart Merriam describes this basket as:
“Ah’ts (or Ah’ch) Waterbottle
Purchased by me from an old Tahche [woman] living in a tule hut, at the remains of a Tahche settlement 7 miles southeast of Lemoore, near Tulare Lake, California. June 5, 1903.”
The Tachi Yokuts of the southern San Joaquin Valley are known for their twined basketry, made from local plants such as hazel and willow (for warps) as well as sedge root, conifer root, redbud and brakenfern (for wefts). The wetlands of the valley floor also provided abundant tule, which was used for both warps and wefts in Valley Yokuts basketry, and is seen here in this waterbottle.
Though made of tule, the warps of this basket are not loose and flexible like the basketry of the Klamath and Modoc of northern California, and the basket maintains its rigidity. While up-to-the right slant of weft twist is more common among the Foothills Yokuts, down-to-the-right slant of weft is commonly observed among the Tachi and other Valley Yokuts, as seen here.
Waterbottles were either soaked in water to cause the tule to swell, so as to make the basket water-tight, or covered with pine pitch to prevent the leaking of water. Unpitched waterbottles like this one were also sometimes used to hold seeds.
Though the Yokuts had both elaborate coiling and twining traditions, twining was particularly important, especially among the tribes around Tulare Lake, who may not have adopted coiling until later. Coiled baskets were traded from the foothills, however, in exchange for tule mats. String baskets, a style different to both coiling and twining, were also made by the Valley Yokuts.
Like other California cultures, basketry among the Tachi was a vital technology that could be used for a wide array of purposes, even holding water. While some pottery technology was known to and made by the Valley Yokuts, it was not as widespread or important as basketry. Even in the pottery of the Valley Yokuts, you can find the impressions of the baskets used to hold the clay vessels.
Basket purchased June 5, 1903 by Clinton Hart Merriam
Diameter: 195 mm; Height: 250 mm
Clinton Hart Merriam describes this basket as:
“Ah’ts (or Ah’ch) Waterbottle
Purchased by me from an old Tahche [woman] living in a tule hut, at the remains of a Tahche settlement 7 miles southeast of Lemoore, near Tulare Lake, California. June 5, 1903.”
The Tachi Yokuts of the southern San Joaquin Valley are known for their twined basketry, made from local plants such as hazel and willow (for warps) as well as sedge root, conifer root, redbud and brakenfern (for wefts). The wetlands of the valley floor also provided abundant tule, which was used for both warps and wefts in Valley Yokuts basketry, and is seen here in this waterbottle.
Though made of tule, the warps of this basket are not loose and flexible like the basketry of the Klamath and Modoc of northern California, and the basket maintains its rigidity. While up-to-the right slant of weft twist is more common among the Foothills Yokuts, down-to-the-right slant of weft is commonly observed among the Tachi and other Valley Yokuts, as seen here.
Waterbottles were either soaked in water to cause the tule to swell, so as to make the basket water-tight, or covered with pine pitch to prevent the leaking of water. Unpitched waterbottles like this one were also sometimes used to hold seeds.
Though the Yokuts had both elaborate coiling and twining traditions, twining was particularly important, especially among the tribes around Tulare Lake, who may not have adopted coiling until later. Coiled baskets were traded from the foothills, however, in exchange for tule mats. String baskets, a style different to both coiling and twining, were also made by the Valley Yokuts.
Like other California cultures, basketry among the Tachi was a vital technology that could be used for a wide array of purposes, even holding water. While some pottery technology was known to and made by the Valley Yokuts, it was not as widespread or important as basketry. Even in the pottery of the Valley Yokuts, you can find the impressions of the baskets used to hold the clay vessels.
July 9, 2015: Miniature Mortar
A note left with this artifact indicates that, according to former UC Davis professor D.L. True, miniature mortars such as this were given to children and kept for life. In fact, miniatures of many of the tools used by adults were made as toys for children, often reflecting vocational outcomes.
Young girls would often play with dolls, which could be made from a variety of materials or drawn in the sand, and sometimes placed in miniature baby cradle baskets. Among younger girls, miniature digging sticks would be used to dig up grasses to feed their dolls. Miniature digging stick weights, mortars and pestles, and baskets could accompany the process. Girls would often go out with their mothers and were allowed to play as their mothers worked, over time learning from their mothers the techniques needed to turn play into work. Before learning to weave, small versions of baskets were made for young girls to use, though the type of basket and the associated use varied by culture.
Young boys would also play with dolls, but would more often mimic hunting, fishing, and war. Miniature bows and arrows were sometimes hung above an infant as soothing toy, and small functioning bows and arrows were used by boys for target practice. Among some fishing cultures, such as the Yurok, boys would be given small boats, which they were forbidden from using in actual waterways, instead having to build inland ponds. Pretending to catch salmon, they boys would hang salmonberry from the roofs of their play houses as “salmon” being hung up to dry.
Despite having different toys and games to reflect the division of labor by gender, girls and boys would play together, too. Among the Pomo, girls and boys worked together to make play dance houses, with boys collecting materials and tying the frames and girls mixing the clay and applying the dirt roof covering. Additionally, the lines that divided the play of boys and girls were not absolute. In northern Baja, girls would sometimes have toy throwing sticks, used to hunt rabbits, made specifically for them.
What constituted play varied, of course, between cultures. In some cultures, the bull-roarer, an instrument sounded by spinning a weighted airfoil around by a string, was a play toy for children, though in other cultures, children were forbidden from using bull-roarers lest misfortune fall upon them.
From Dr. True’s analysis, this miniature mortar from Colusa County likely belonged to girl.
The larger variety of mortar and pestle, symbolized by this miniature, was an important technology in seed processing, though it could also be used to crush minerals and plants for the manufacture of pigments. Some stand-alone mortars were smoothed on the exterior, though others were left with rough, natural exteriors. Other mortars were worked into bedrock and were immobile. Hopper mortars, with low shallow bowls, were used in conjunction with mortar hopper baskets, baskets with the bottoms removed used to contain the pounded material.
Young girls would often play with dolls, which could be made from a variety of materials or drawn in the sand, and sometimes placed in miniature baby cradle baskets. Among younger girls, miniature digging sticks would be used to dig up grasses to feed their dolls. Miniature digging stick weights, mortars and pestles, and baskets could accompany the process. Girls would often go out with their mothers and were allowed to play as their mothers worked, over time learning from their mothers the techniques needed to turn play into work. Before learning to weave, small versions of baskets were made for young girls to use, though the type of basket and the associated use varied by culture.
Young boys would also play with dolls, but would more often mimic hunting, fishing, and war. Miniature bows and arrows were sometimes hung above an infant as soothing toy, and small functioning bows and arrows were used by boys for target practice. Among some fishing cultures, such as the Yurok, boys would be given small boats, which they were forbidden from using in actual waterways, instead having to build inland ponds. Pretending to catch salmon, they boys would hang salmonberry from the roofs of their play houses as “salmon” being hung up to dry.
Despite having different toys and games to reflect the division of labor by gender, girls and boys would play together, too. Among the Pomo, girls and boys worked together to make play dance houses, with boys collecting materials and tying the frames and girls mixing the clay and applying the dirt roof covering. Additionally, the lines that divided the play of boys and girls were not absolute. In northern Baja, girls would sometimes have toy throwing sticks, used to hunt rabbits, made specifically for them.
What constituted play varied, of course, between cultures. In some cultures, the bull-roarer, an instrument sounded by spinning a weighted airfoil around by a string, was a play toy for children, though in other cultures, children were forbidden from using bull-roarers lest misfortune fall upon them.
From Dr. True’s analysis, this miniature mortar from Colusa County likely belonged to girl.
The larger variety of mortar and pestle, symbolized by this miniature, was an important technology in seed processing, though it could also be used to crush minerals and plants for the manufacture of pigments. Some stand-alone mortars were smoothed on the exterior, though others were left with rough, natural exteriors. Other mortars were worked into bedrock and were immobile. Hopper mortars, with low shallow bowls, were used in conjunction with mortar hopper baskets, baskets with the bottoms removed used to contain the pounded material.
July 2, 2015: Chimu Effigy Vessel of a Monkey
Peru
16 x 14 x 12 cm
The Chimu kingdom flourished along the northern Peruvian coast for a short period from around 1200-1470 CE, when they were conquered by the Inca. Prior to their expansion as a powerful state, the heart of their civilization has roots in the Moche culture, a culture that arose around 100 CE and that is known for its varied ceramics. The ceramic of the Moche and their successors provide valuable information on everyday life, depicting everyday activity such as fishing, weaving, metalworking, warfare, and sex, as well as a range of plants and animals familiar to the culture. North Coast Peruvian ceramics capture a wide variety of themes in striking detail, sometimes incredibly lifelike while other times hilariously cartoony.
This effigy vessel depicts a rather festive monkey, with what appears to be a hat and necklace. The red and white painted design is characteristic of North Coast Peruvian pottery design.
16 x 14 x 12 cm
The Chimu kingdom flourished along the northern Peruvian coast for a short period from around 1200-1470 CE, when they were conquered by the Inca. Prior to their expansion as a powerful state, the heart of their civilization has roots in the Moche culture, a culture that arose around 100 CE and that is known for its varied ceramics. The ceramic of the Moche and their successors provide valuable information on everyday life, depicting everyday activity such as fishing, weaving, metalworking, warfare, and sex, as well as a range of plants and animals familiar to the culture. North Coast Peruvian ceramics capture a wide variety of themes in striking detail, sometimes incredibly lifelike while other times hilariously cartoony.
This effigy vessel depicts a rather festive monkey, with what appears to be a hat and necklace. The red and white painted design is characteristic of North Coast Peruvian pottery design.
June 25, 2015: Whilkut Twined Basket with Unclipped Interior Wefts
Blue Lake, Humboldt County, California
Basket purchased September 15, 1910 by Clinton Hart Merriam
Height: 7.5 cm; Max Width: 13 cm
Clinton Hart Merriam, turn-of-the-century naturalist and ethnographer, was fascinated by the basketry made by the Native Peoples of California. Indeed, basketry was a subject that combined his fascination with California’s rich biota with his love of the people he met during his travels. Merriam began an extensive basketry collection during his travels in California and the American West, purchasing baskets from people he met along the way. While others of the time mostly bought ornate made-for-sale baskets, Merriam’s collection practices were unique in his interest in the day-to-day, often buying baskets that were well worn or that he saw being used. This particular basket was not even fully complete when he purchased it!
This twined basket from Northwestern California features a technique called overlay. While non-overlay twining requires only two weft elements, the overlay technique uses at least four weft elements, two underlay and two overlay elements (potentially more if some are carried under to prevent excessive weft substitutions during design). Notice that the overlay (white bear grass, red-dyed woodwardia, and black maidenhair fern) is “single-sided” in that it only shows on the exterior (workface, in this case) of the basket, being hidden behind the spruce root underlay on the interior (backface, in this case). However, the presence of the leftover ends of overlay is apparent where unclipped strands are left sticking out of the backface of the basket. These were usually clipped with a sharp rock or shell upon completion of the basket.
Merriam does not specify why he bought it this way, although it serves as a valuable example of an in-progress single-sided overlay basket. Merriam’s original catalog card for this basket reads as follows:
“Tribe: ‘Hwilkut or Hoi-let-ha, Athapaskan Stock, Redwood Cr., Humboldt Co., Calif.
Diam. Mouth 95 mm (3 ¾ in.)
Chel-lotch. –Small twined slightly choked trinket basket. Body of basket spruce roots overlaid with Xerophyllum, Woodwardia, and Adiantum. The main body of the design is salmon-red (black in photo [referring to his photo]) from the inner ropes of Woodwardia stained red with inner bark of alder. The 2 closely parallel horizontal stripes near the top appear to be a feature of H’Wilkut baskets.
Purchased by me from the woman who was making it (had not yet finished it) at Blue Lake, Humboldt, Co., Calif. Sept. 15, 1910. –CHM”
Basket purchased September 15, 1910 by Clinton Hart Merriam
Height: 7.5 cm; Max Width: 13 cm
Clinton Hart Merriam, turn-of-the-century naturalist and ethnographer, was fascinated by the basketry made by the Native Peoples of California. Indeed, basketry was a subject that combined his fascination with California’s rich biota with his love of the people he met during his travels. Merriam began an extensive basketry collection during his travels in California and the American West, purchasing baskets from people he met along the way. While others of the time mostly bought ornate made-for-sale baskets, Merriam’s collection practices were unique in his interest in the day-to-day, often buying baskets that were well worn or that he saw being used. This particular basket was not even fully complete when he purchased it!
This twined basket from Northwestern California features a technique called overlay. While non-overlay twining requires only two weft elements, the overlay technique uses at least four weft elements, two underlay and two overlay elements (potentially more if some are carried under to prevent excessive weft substitutions during design). Notice that the overlay (white bear grass, red-dyed woodwardia, and black maidenhair fern) is “single-sided” in that it only shows on the exterior (workface, in this case) of the basket, being hidden behind the spruce root underlay on the interior (backface, in this case). However, the presence of the leftover ends of overlay is apparent where unclipped strands are left sticking out of the backface of the basket. These were usually clipped with a sharp rock or shell upon completion of the basket.
Merriam does not specify why he bought it this way, although it serves as a valuable example of an in-progress single-sided overlay basket. Merriam’s original catalog card for this basket reads as follows:
“Tribe: ‘Hwilkut or Hoi-let-ha, Athapaskan Stock, Redwood Cr., Humboldt Co., Calif.
Diam. Mouth 95 mm (3 ¾ in.)
Chel-lotch. –Small twined slightly choked trinket basket. Body of basket spruce roots overlaid with Xerophyllum, Woodwardia, and Adiantum. The main body of the design is salmon-red (black in photo [referring to his photo]) from the inner ropes of Woodwardia stained red with inner bark of alder. The 2 closely parallel horizontal stripes near the top appear to be a feature of H’Wilkut baskets.
Purchased by me from the woman who was making it (had not yet finished it) at Blue Lake, Humboldt, Co., Calif. Sept. 15, 1910. –CHM”
June 18, 2015: Pressed Glass Mug with Goat (Chivu) Design
Puebla, Puebla, Mexico, 1963
16 cm (height) x 10 cm (opening diameter) x 15 cm (with handle)
700 ml holding volume
Daniel Crowley, a professor of art and anthropology at UC Davis from 1961-1996, joined the newly formed Anthropology Department and began the instruction of cultural anthropology at UC Davis. He loved traveling and conducting field work, which he did extensively despite losing use of his legs in 1946 from polio while in the Navy. His travels led him to every country except Iraq and earned him recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records as “the most traveled disabled person.”
On a field expedition to Mexico and Arizona in 1963, early in his career at UC Davis, Crowley collected a number of folk crafts at the local markets he encountered, including the Day of the Dead pieces currently on display in Young Hall. Unfortunately, most of the items he collected on this expedition were broken in shipment back to the U.S. Among the pieces that survived was this lucky pressed glass mug.
Pressed glass is a technique of glass manufacture that was developed in the United States in the 1820s (and in Europe in the 1830s) that involves the pressing of hot glass into a mold with the use of a plunger (dissimilar to the kind that may be found in a bathroom). This technique allowed for the mass production of pieces with intricately patterned designs and can be identified by mold lines that run across the piece. In the 1920s, pressed glass fell out of favor to imported crystal glass from Europe, but it rose in popularity again during the great depression as an affordable glass. Pressed glass continues on as an artistic form of glass production, particularly the painted or metal-applied variety known as “carnival glass,” a technique that was developed in the early 20th century.
This particular mug, decorated with geometric designs and the face of a goat has a number of large bubbles suspended in the hardened glass, perhaps an invitation to have a nice, cold bubbly drink as you enjoy the festivities.
Cheers to you, Dr. Crowley!
16 cm (height) x 10 cm (opening diameter) x 15 cm (with handle)
700 ml holding volume
Daniel Crowley, a professor of art and anthropology at UC Davis from 1961-1996, joined the newly formed Anthropology Department and began the instruction of cultural anthropology at UC Davis. He loved traveling and conducting field work, which he did extensively despite losing use of his legs in 1946 from polio while in the Navy. His travels led him to every country except Iraq and earned him recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records as “the most traveled disabled person.”
On a field expedition to Mexico and Arizona in 1963, early in his career at UC Davis, Crowley collected a number of folk crafts at the local markets he encountered, including the Day of the Dead pieces currently on display in Young Hall. Unfortunately, most of the items he collected on this expedition were broken in shipment back to the U.S. Among the pieces that survived was this lucky pressed glass mug.
Pressed glass is a technique of glass manufacture that was developed in the United States in the 1820s (and in Europe in the 1830s) that involves the pressing of hot glass into a mold with the use of a plunger (dissimilar to the kind that may be found in a bathroom). This technique allowed for the mass production of pieces with intricately patterned designs and can be identified by mold lines that run across the piece. In the 1920s, pressed glass fell out of favor to imported crystal glass from Europe, but it rose in popularity again during the great depression as an affordable glass. Pressed glass continues on as an artistic form of glass production, particularly the painted or metal-applied variety known as “carnival glass,” a technique that was developed in the early 20th century.
This particular mug, decorated with geometric designs and the face of a goat has a number of large bubbles suspended in the hardened glass, perhaps an invitation to have a nice, cold bubbly drink as you enjoy the festivities.
Cheers to you, Dr. Crowley!
June 11, 2015: Moche Portrait Vessel
Peru
Early Intermediate to Middle Horizon 100-750 C.E.
14 x 12 x 22 cm
Portrait vessels such as this one are characteristic of the Moche, a culture that lived along Peru’s northern coast about 100-800 CE. The Moche economy was centered on agriculture and fishing, and political power seems to have been regionally controlled by ruling families. Like other cultures of the Peruvian coast, the Moche produced exceptional ceramics, and they are known for naturalistic depiction of the human form, as seen in their portrait vessels, which depict individuals with all their idiosyncrasies, including cleft lips, missing eyes, and other distinguishing features.
The faces depicted in the portrait vessels were often made from molds, and the same face can sometimes been found in multiple vessels, though the hand-detailing and the garb may vary. The subjects portrayed are usually adult men, although some childlike faces have been found. Break patterns and evidence of repair suggest that they were used in day to day life, though their precise function is unknown. The looped spout in the coronal plane is a characteristic feature of Moche portrait vessels, and seems to indicate that they were used to hold liquid.
Early Intermediate to Middle Horizon 100-750 C.E.
14 x 12 x 22 cm
Portrait vessels such as this one are characteristic of the Moche, a culture that lived along Peru’s northern coast about 100-800 CE. The Moche economy was centered on agriculture and fishing, and political power seems to have been regionally controlled by ruling families. Like other cultures of the Peruvian coast, the Moche produced exceptional ceramics, and they are known for naturalistic depiction of the human form, as seen in their portrait vessels, which depict individuals with all their idiosyncrasies, including cleft lips, missing eyes, and other distinguishing features.
The faces depicted in the portrait vessels were often made from molds, and the same face can sometimes been found in multiple vessels, though the hand-detailing and the garb may vary. The subjects portrayed are usually adult men, although some childlike faces have been found. Break patterns and evidence of repair suggest that they were used in day to day life, though their precise function is unknown. The looped spout in the coronal plane is a characteristic feature of Moche portrait vessels, and seems to indicate that they were used to hold liquid.
June 4, 2015: Chancay Double-Chambered Whistling Vessel
Peru
Middle Horizon to Late Intermediate 1100-1476 CE
20 x 7 x 23 cm
Double-chambered whistling vessels are an important part of the ceramic art of pre-Columbian Peru. This technology, which uses the flow of water between two chambers to push air through a whistle hole, likely developed with the Vicús culture (200 BCE – 600 CE) and spread cross-culturally around 0 – 1500 CE. Prior to that, single chambered whistling vessels were made in Ecuador as early as 1200-900 BCE, and among the Chavin of northern Peru around 800 BCE, whom appear to have had cultural and material exchange with the Maya.
The Chancay, c.a. 1000 to 1470, occupied areas of the central coast of Peru prior to expansions by the Chimú and, later, the Inca, whose expansion in the fifteenth century led to decline of both the Chancay and the Chimú. The Chancay economy included fishing from shore and reed watercrafts, agriculture utilizing water reservoirs and irrigation channels, and expansive trade networks. The Chancay are known for their rich textile tradition, of which many pieces have survived archaeologically, as well as their ceramics, which are characteristically white and black with a matted texture, as seen here. Ceramics were usually made from complex molds with additional hand sculpting for detail.
Birds are a common theme in Chancay art, and in this piece, we see a bird perched atop one of the chambers of the whistling vessel. Small holes on the bird’s back serve as the whistle for escaping air. You can see a demonstration of a similar type vessel made by a modern potter at the following link: https://youtu.be/54DpRwzA33g?t=35s. Do note, however, that in this video, a single spout on the bridge serves as entry for water that flows into two whistling chambers. Different sounds could be made using different designs, and each sound had different symbolic or aesthetic uses, such as giving a voice to a spirit, imitating an animal call, or making a lighthearted gurgling sound.
Music played an important role in the worldview of prehistoric Peru, as elsewhere in pre-Columbian South America and Mesoamerica. The voices of instruments were thought to contain spirits or spiritual power, as depicted through murals and through Spanish accounts of Incan soldiers bringing instruments to battle in order to call upon the spirits within. Sound was a way in which people could connect with each other, the natural world, and the world of the unknown.
Middle Horizon to Late Intermediate 1100-1476 CE
20 x 7 x 23 cm
Double-chambered whistling vessels are an important part of the ceramic art of pre-Columbian Peru. This technology, which uses the flow of water between two chambers to push air through a whistle hole, likely developed with the Vicús culture (200 BCE – 600 CE) and spread cross-culturally around 0 – 1500 CE. Prior to that, single chambered whistling vessels were made in Ecuador as early as 1200-900 BCE, and among the Chavin of northern Peru around 800 BCE, whom appear to have had cultural and material exchange with the Maya.
The Chancay, c.a. 1000 to 1470, occupied areas of the central coast of Peru prior to expansions by the Chimú and, later, the Inca, whose expansion in the fifteenth century led to decline of both the Chancay and the Chimú. The Chancay economy included fishing from shore and reed watercrafts, agriculture utilizing water reservoirs and irrigation channels, and expansive trade networks. The Chancay are known for their rich textile tradition, of which many pieces have survived archaeologically, as well as their ceramics, which are characteristically white and black with a matted texture, as seen here. Ceramics were usually made from complex molds with additional hand sculpting for detail.
Birds are a common theme in Chancay art, and in this piece, we see a bird perched atop one of the chambers of the whistling vessel. Small holes on the bird’s back serve as the whistle for escaping air. You can see a demonstration of a similar type vessel made by a modern potter at the following link: https://youtu.be/54DpRwzA33g?t=35s. Do note, however, that in this video, a single spout on the bridge serves as entry for water that flows into two whistling chambers. Different sounds could be made using different designs, and each sound had different symbolic or aesthetic uses, such as giving a voice to a spirit, imitating an animal call, or making a lighthearted gurgling sound.
Music played an important role in the worldview of prehistoric Peru, as elsewhere in pre-Columbian South America and Mesoamerica. The voices of instruments were thought to contain spirits or spiritual power, as depicted through murals and through Spanish accounts of Incan soldiers bringing instruments to battle in order to call upon the spirits within. Sound was a way in which people could connect with each other, the natural world, and the world of the unknown.
May 28, 2015: Yokuts Gambling Tray and Walnut Dice
Mill Creek Valley, Fresno County, California
Basket purchased October 21, 1903 by Clinton Hart Merriam
56.5 cm diameter
Various forms of dice gambling were widespread throughout Native North America at the time of European contact. Like other games of the continent, the dice game transcended linguistic and geographic boundaries, showing a propensity for game elements, sometimes referred to as “ludemes,” to be culturally transmitted despite linguistic and cultural differences. The dice game could have both material and symbolic significance, bringing communities together in reciprocal exchanges of wealth, aiding in ceremony or divination, and representing ideas of world order.
The dice themselves could be made of a variety of materials, depending on the culture and region. In California, split walnut shells filled with pine pitch or asphaltum and decorated with pieces of abalone shell, such as the ones pictured here, were most commonly used, though split acorns could be used as well. In the Northeast, the northern Great Plains, and southern Canada, painted plumstones were used as dice and cast into wooden bowls. Split sticks were used in the Southwest and surrounding regions, though these usually were not accompanied by a basket or bowl but were bounced onto a mat or the ground. In the Pacific Northwest and surrounding areas, beaver teeth were often used as dice, though they could be substituted with bone or the teeth from other animals. Dice sets made from mussel shells were also known among the Hupa and their northern California neighbors, as well as the Kawaiisu of Southern California.
Basketry trays, such as this Yokuts gambling tray, were important components of the dice game played in California and the Great Basin. Thick coiled baskets are also known to have been used on the Great Plains and in the Southwest. But in California, the land of basketry, gambling trays were especially fine and elaborately designed. Their shape was usually that of a large, decorated winnowing tray. Dice would be rolled onto gambling trays, which acted as a smooth surface for dice to land. The Yokuts, who occupied large portions the San Joaquin prehistorically, made coiled baskets with deergrass foundations with wefts of sedge, bracken fern root, and redbud, as seen here in this basket purchased by botanist and ethnographer C.H. Merriam.
While versions of the dice game could sometimes be played in large gatherings and involve men and women players, the game was generally played, and the knowledge retained, by women. It was not uncommon for male informants, when asked about the dice game, to not know the specific rules of play. Surveys of 131 dice games by turn-of-the-century ethnographer Edward Culin found 81% were played by women only, 12% by men and women, and 7% exclusively by men. Sometimes women would go off together to play the games unbothered, although in other instances it was common for men and other spectators to also bet on the games being played. In many cultures, dice rolling was seen as a skill that could be honed, and it was not uncommon for women to practice their dice rolling.
Some evidence suggests that point structures of the dice games generally corresponded to probabilistic expected payoff, however numerous exceptions exist. In some instances, the dice game was not about gambling but instead served ritual or predictive purposes, such as war divination among the Zuni and distribution of the deceased’s possession among the Sisseton. Among the Fox, dice games following the death of community invariable resulted in victory for the moiety of the recently deceased because “that is the way it is.”
Nevertheless, the material exchange associated with dice game gambling may have played a role in expansive trade networks of Native America. In one instance, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition was surprised to find that parts of iron axes made in Fort Mandan, North Dakota, had reached the Nez Perce of Idaho, travelling a distance of 1,000 miles in just fourteen months since their manufacture. The pieces of the axes he observed were being used as gambling pieces, and their expedient travel may have been related to the role of gambling in trade networks. In this sense, the widespread distribution of the dice game can be seen not only as the product of cultural transmission but as one of the mechanisms that sustained the continued movement of materials and ideas across the native landscape.
An example of the rules of play recorded by Frank Latta in the Handbook of Yokuts Indians is included here.
“[The dice game] was played by four women, two pairs of partners. The players were seated upon the ground, partners side by side and their opponents opposite. Between them was placed a large flat tray made of basketry material and having slightly upturned edges. This tray was called tiwon. The dice, called hoo’utch, were thrown upon the tray. In some localities the dice were made of acorn caps, but in most instances they were made from nuts of the native black walnut. The nut was split in half, the kernel removed, and the hollow filled with pitch or asphaltum. Into the pitch were pressed small bits of abalone shell or white shell beads. In this way the dice were numbered from one to eight; in some instances to as many as twelve. The dice were gathered from the mat between the two hands and sometimes rolled together. They were then thrown upon the mat."
"Four combinations were recognized in scoring. Three flat sides remaining up counted one point and one of the twelve [counting] sticks was awarded to the partners making the point. Two flat sides up counted one point. All flat sides up or all flat sides down counted five points each and awarded five of the counting sticks. When only one dice lay upon the tray with the flat side up, the thrower lost one point and the dice were awarded to the two opposing players. Either of the partners could throw the dice. Considerable skill was thought necessary in throwing them. A [woman] who could roll the dice most rapidly and who could pour forth the most convincing entreaties was usually accorded this privilege. A Huuhchuish game has been known to continue without interruption for several days and nights.”
Basket purchased October 21, 1903 by Clinton Hart Merriam
56.5 cm diameter
Various forms of dice gambling were widespread throughout Native North America at the time of European contact. Like other games of the continent, the dice game transcended linguistic and geographic boundaries, showing a propensity for game elements, sometimes referred to as “ludemes,” to be culturally transmitted despite linguistic and cultural differences. The dice game could have both material and symbolic significance, bringing communities together in reciprocal exchanges of wealth, aiding in ceremony or divination, and representing ideas of world order.
The dice themselves could be made of a variety of materials, depending on the culture and region. In California, split walnut shells filled with pine pitch or asphaltum and decorated with pieces of abalone shell, such as the ones pictured here, were most commonly used, though split acorns could be used as well. In the Northeast, the northern Great Plains, and southern Canada, painted plumstones were used as dice and cast into wooden bowls. Split sticks were used in the Southwest and surrounding regions, though these usually were not accompanied by a basket or bowl but were bounced onto a mat or the ground. In the Pacific Northwest and surrounding areas, beaver teeth were often used as dice, though they could be substituted with bone or the teeth from other animals. Dice sets made from mussel shells were also known among the Hupa and their northern California neighbors, as well as the Kawaiisu of Southern California.
Basketry trays, such as this Yokuts gambling tray, were important components of the dice game played in California and the Great Basin. Thick coiled baskets are also known to have been used on the Great Plains and in the Southwest. But in California, the land of basketry, gambling trays were especially fine and elaborately designed. Their shape was usually that of a large, decorated winnowing tray. Dice would be rolled onto gambling trays, which acted as a smooth surface for dice to land. The Yokuts, who occupied large portions the San Joaquin prehistorically, made coiled baskets with deergrass foundations with wefts of sedge, bracken fern root, and redbud, as seen here in this basket purchased by botanist and ethnographer C.H. Merriam.
While versions of the dice game could sometimes be played in large gatherings and involve men and women players, the game was generally played, and the knowledge retained, by women. It was not uncommon for male informants, when asked about the dice game, to not know the specific rules of play. Surveys of 131 dice games by turn-of-the-century ethnographer Edward Culin found 81% were played by women only, 12% by men and women, and 7% exclusively by men. Sometimes women would go off together to play the games unbothered, although in other instances it was common for men and other spectators to also bet on the games being played. In many cultures, dice rolling was seen as a skill that could be honed, and it was not uncommon for women to practice their dice rolling.
Some evidence suggests that point structures of the dice games generally corresponded to probabilistic expected payoff, however numerous exceptions exist. In some instances, the dice game was not about gambling but instead served ritual or predictive purposes, such as war divination among the Zuni and distribution of the deceased’s possession among the Sisseton. Among the Fox, dice games following the death of community invariable resulted in victory for the moiety of the recently deceased because “that is the way it is.”
Nevertheless, the material exchange associated with dice game gambling may have played a role in expansive trade networks of Native America. In one instance, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition was surprised to find that parts of iron axes made in Fort Mandan, North Dakota, had reached the Nez Perce of Idaho, travelling a distance of 1,000 miles in just fourteen months since their manufacture. The pieces of the axes he observed were being used as gambling pieces, and their expedient travel may have been related to the role of gambling in trade networks. In this sense, the widespread distribution of the dice game can be seen not only as the product of cultural transmission but as one of the mechanisms that sustained the continued movement of materials and ideas across the native landscape.
An example of the rules of play recorded by Frank Latta in the Handbook of Yokuts Indians is included here.
“[The dice game] was played by four women, two pairs of partners. The players were seated upon the ground, partners side by side and their opponents opposite. Between them was placed a large flat tray made of basketry material and having slightly upturned edges. This tray was called tiwon. The dice, called hoo’utch, were thrown upon the tray. In some localities the dice were made of acorn caps, but in most instances they were made from nuts of the native black walnut. The nut was split in half, the kernel removed, and the hollow filled with pitch or asphaltum. Into the pitch were pressed small bits of abalone shell or white shell beads. In this way the dice were numbered from one to eight; in some instances to as many as twelve. The dice were gathered from the mat between the two hands and sometimes rolled together. They were then thrown upon the mat."
"Four combinations were recognized in scoring. Three flat sides remaining up counted one point and one of the twelve [counting] sticks was awarded to the partners making the point. Two flat sides up counted one point. All flat sides up or all flat sides down counted five points each and awarded five of the counting sticks. When only one dice lay upon the tray with the flat side up, the thrower lost one point and the dice were awarded to the two opposing players. Either of the partners could throw the dice. Considerable skill was thought necessary in throwing them. A [woman] who could roll the dice most rapidly and who could pour forth the most convincing entreaties was usually accorded this privilege. A Huuhchuish game has been known to continue without interruption for several days and nights.”
May 21, 2015: Ebony Bust
Equatorial Africa, mid-20th Century
39 x 15 x 16 cm
Sculpture is a long and vibrant tradition in equatorial Africa, employing an array of mediums, including bronze, stone, ceramic, ivory, and wood. This bust of a woman is made from ebony (Diospyros sp.), a tree with beautifully dark heartwood dense enough to sink in water. Ebony has been a highly prized wood used anciently, as evidenced by 5,000 year old carved pieces found in Egyptian tombs; historically, as in the “ebony” keys of pianos; and modernly, a prized wood for fretboards, pool cue butts, and a variety of boxes and handles. Deforestation and over-logging have threatened and endangered many ebony species and a number of regional bans on the export of ebony are now in effect.
Sculptures in equatorial Africa were not only considered to be works of art, but often possessed religious and social significance to the community. A finished sculpture could have certain religious powers bestowed to it by a trained individual with a connection to the spirit world. This could be used a means to ward off evil spirits and disease, bring good harvest and heavy rain, or bring fertility and fortune. In the cultural ontology, spiritual statues are better thought of as dwellings in which spirits could reside, instead of being considered idols in their own right. Statues could thus house spirits of ancestors or spirits that influenced the natural world when appropriately prepared.
From an art history perspective, African sculpture is a diverse and long-running artistic tradition. African art was a major influence to European art beginning with Portuguese sailors who brought back African art as proof of their voyages in the late 16th century. African artist applied their techniques and traditions to new forms, such as salt cellars, in the prosperous port cities of West Africa. This cultural exchange was not necessarily one of mutual understanding, however. The British military expedition to Benin in 1897, widely cited as a major event in bringing African art to European consumers, was the result of the looting of Benin City by British forces during a hostile invasion following trade disputes and a growing interest in colonial possessions by the British crown.
In the early 20th century, aesthetics of African sculpture influenced the development modern art. Artists from the School of Paris, including Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, drew from the highly stylized forms of African sculptures, blending them with post-Impressionist aesthetics, to create Cubism. Picasso’s African Period (1906-1909) was sparked by a visit to an ethnographic museum in the Palais du Trocadéro. Not only did the high three-dimensionality of African art influence the two-dimensional European tradition, but European sculpture was influenced as well. The sculptor and painter Amedeo Modigliani drew upon African sculpting forms in his own sculptures, mimicking the African tradition, as well as in his characteristic paintings of the elongated human form.
This piece from “Equatorial Africa,” donated to the museum in 1963, shares a common problem with many ethnographic collections donated to museums from private collections in that it lacks meaningful provenience information. While its appearance suggests that it was likely made for sale in the 20th century, documentation about who it was collected from and where was not preserved. A good practice in art collection, as with ethnographic material, is to keep track of as much information about the object as possible and to carefully maintain that documentation. If your masterpiece ever ends up in a museum someday, your efforts will be greatly appreciated.
39 x 15 x 16 cm
Sculpture is a long and vibrant tradition in equatorial Africa, employing an array of mediums, including bronze, stone, ceramic, ivory, and wood. This bust of a woman is made from ebony (Diospyros sp.), a tree with beautifully dark heartwood dense enough to sink in water. Ebony has been a highly prized wood used anciently, as evidenced by 5,000 year old carved pieces found in Egyptian tombs; historically, as in the “ebony” keys of pianos; and modernly, a prized wood for fretboards, pool cue butts, and a variety of boxes and handles. Deforestation and over-logging have threatened and endangered many ebony species and a number of regional bans on the export of ebony are now in effect.
Sculptures in equatorial Africa were not only considered to be works of art, but often possessed religious and social significance to the community. A finished sculpture could have certain religious powers bestowed to it by a trained individual with a connection to the spirit world. This could be used a means to ward off evil spirits and disease, bring good harvest and heavy rain, or bring fertility and fortune. In the cultural ontology, spiritual statues are better thought of as dwellings in which spirits could reside, instead of being considered idols in their own right. Statues could thus house spirits of ancestors or spirits that influenced the natural world when appropriately prepared.
From an art history perspective, African sculpture is a diverse and long-running artistic tradition. African art was a major influence to European art beginning with Portuguese sailors who brought back African art as proof of their voyages in the late 16th century. African artist applied their techniques and traditions to new forms, such as salt cellars, in the prosperous port cities of West Africa. This cultural exchange was not necessarily one of mutual understanding, however. The British military expedition to Benin in 1897, widely cited as a major event in bringing African art to European consumers, was the result of the looting of Benin City by British forces during a hostile invasion following trade disputes and a growing interest in colonial possessions by the British crown.
In the early 20th century, aesthetics of African sculpture influenced the development modern art. Artists from the School of Paris, including Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, drew from the highly stylized forms of African sculptures, blending them with post-Impressionist aesthetics, to create Cubism. Picasso’s African Period (1906-1909) was sparked by a visit to an ethnographic museum in the Palais du Trocadéro. Not only did the high three-dimensionality of African art influence the two-dimensional European tradition, but European sculpture was influenced as well. The sculptor and painter Amedeo Modigliani drew upon African sculpting forms in his own sculptures, mimicking the African tradition, as well as in his characteristic paintings of the elongated human form.
This piece from “Equatorial Africa,” donated to the museum in 1963, shares a common problem with many ethnographic collections donated to museums from private collections in that it lacks meaningful provenience information. While its appearance suggests that it was likely made for sale in the 20th century, documentation about who it was collected from and where was not preserved. A good practice in art collection, as with ethnographic material, is to keep track of as much information about the object as possible and to carefully maintain that documentation. If your masterpiece ever ends up in a museum someday, your efforts will be greatly appreciated.
May 14, 2015: Smiling Face Figurine (Sonriente)
Veracruz, East Mexico
Late Classic Period, C.A. 600-900 CE
10 x 13.5 x 9 cm
Smiling face figurines, such as this one, are characteristic of the Remojadas style, a component of classic Veracruz culture. Break patterns on the base of the head suggest that this artifact was once attached to a ceramic body, similar to other smiling face figurines recovered and another we have at the museum. The holes in the back and sides of the head suggest that this piece may have also served as whistle, although these holes were needed to allow steam to escape the fired clay and may have served as holders for feathers or other decorative attachments.
There are multiple standing interpretations concerning the purpose of these figurines, however none of these explanations are conclusive. One explanation for their drunken appearance is that the figurines may have had some connection to the pulque cult, a suite of rituals that revolved around the production and consumption of an alcoholic beverage made from the sap of maguey, an agave plant. However, it is also speculated that the appearance of stupor on the figurines’ faces could be related to hallucinogenic rituals underwent by individuals prior to being sacrificed. Similar types of ceramic figurines are thought to have been symbolically sacrificed, ritually decapitated and smashed. The abundance of recovered heads compared to bodies is sometimes used as a line of evidence to support the symbolic sacrifice interpretation, however as the head is the most recognizable feature of this form, a high collection bias for heads is expected.
To moderns, this form was rare and little was known about it until an influx of smiling face figurines entered the antiquities market in the early 1950’s due to looting. Local government efforts to protect the archaeology resulted in excavations that have yielded much of the information known about these figurines, however looting remains a serious threat to our global understanding of the past.
This piece is affectionately called “Drunk Uncle” by the museum staff and interns. The realism of the face, likely molded from a cast and detailed by hand, contrasts with the exaggerated shape of the head, giving the impression of something that is both familiar and strange, such as the transcendent feelings that accompany music, dance, and perhaps intoxication.
Late Classic Period, C.A. 600-900 CE
10 x 13.5 x 9 cm
Smiling face figurines, such as this one, are characteristic of the Remojadas style, a component of classic Veracruz culture. Break patterns on the base of the head suggest that this artifact was once attached to a ceramic body, similar to other smiling face figurines recovered and another we have at the museum. The holes in the back and sides of the head suggest that this piece may have also served as whistle, although these holes were needed to allow steam to escape the fired clay and may have served as holders for feathers or other decorative attachments.
There are multiple standing interpretations concerning the purpose of these figurines, however none of these explanations are conclusive. One explanation for their drunken appearance is that the figurines may have had some connection to the pulque cult, a suite of rituals that revolved around the production and consumption of an alcoholic beverage made from the sap of maguey, an agave plant. However, it is also speculated that the appearance of stupor on the figurines’ faces could be related to hallucinogenic rituals underwent by individuals prior to being sacrificed. Similar types of ceramic figurines are thought to have been symbolically sacrificed, ritually decapitated and smashed. The abundance of recovered heads compared to bodies is sometimes used as a line of evidence to support the symbolic sacrifice interpretation, however as the head is the most recognizable feature of this form, a high collection bias for heads is expected.
To moderns, this form was rare and little was known about it until an influx of smiling face figurines entered the antiquities market in the early 1950’s due to looting. Local government efforts to protect the archaeology resulted in excavations that have yielded much of the information known about these figurines, however looting remains a serious threat to our global understanding of the past.
This piece is affectionately called “Drunk Uncle” by the museum staff and interns. The realism of the face, likely molded from a cast and detailed by hand, contrasts with the exaggerated shape of the head, giving the impression of something that is both familiar and strange, such as the transcendent feelings that accompany music, dance, and perhaps intoxication.
April 30, 2015: Colima Effigy Vessel of a Dog
Colima, West Mexico
Late Preclassic Period, C.A. 400 BCE - 300 CE
23 x 13 x 31.5 cm
The Colima Dogs were the most frequently depicted animal in Colima art and their effigies are prominently associated with the Western Mexico Shaft Tomb tradition. They are often represented as plump canines with short legs, a short broad neck, upright ears, and a docile demeanor. These features reflect that of the Mexican hairless dog which was fattened for consumption and possibly sacrifice. Religiously, the Colima dog is associated with the Aztec deity Xolotl, “Lord of the Underworld”, who aids the deceased in their journey into the afterlife. Ceramic dog figurines such as this one capture the spirit of human-canine symbiosis and serve as testament to the important role these animals played in the daily lives of the Colima.
Late Preclassic Period, C.A. 400 BCE - 300 CE
23 x 13 x 31.5 cm
The Colima Dogs were the most frequently depicted animal in Colima art and their effigies are prominently associated with the Western Mexico Shaft Tomb tradition. They are often represented as plump canines with short legs, a short broad neck, upright ears, and a docile demeanor. These features reflect that of the Mexican hairless dog which was fattened for consumption and possibly sacrifice. Religiously, the Colima dog is associated with the Aztec deity Xolotl, “Lord of the Underworld”, who aids the deceased in their journey into the afterlife. Ceramic dog figurines such as this one capture the spirit of human-canine symbiosis and serve as testament to the important role these animals played in the daily lives of the Colima.
April 23, 2015: Zapotec Effigy Vessel of Cocijo
Oaxaca, Southern Mexico
Classic Period C.A. 100-950 CE
28.5 x 21.5 x 12 cm
Ceramic effigy vessels such as this one were used to hold food and drink for the ancestors and often depicted seated figures, in this case the god Cocijo. Cocijo’s name was synonymous with lightning, appropriate for a deity of thunder and rain. He was the chief deity of the agricultural Zapotec, whom cultivated crops such as maize, beans, squash, and chili, and whom engineered sophisticated irrigation canals and terraces by the late Preclassic Period (circa 600 BC - 200 CE). Usually depicted as a formal deity with a jaguar-like snout and a serpent’s tongue, Cocijo was also an embodiment of lightning and a spiritual state that priests might transform into during ritual.
Classic Period C.A. 100-950 CE
28.5 x 21.5 x 12 cm
Ceramic effigy vessels such as this one were used to hold food and drink for the ancestors and often depicted seated figures, in this case the god Cocijo. Cocijo’s name was synonymous with lightning, appropriate for a deity of thunder and rain. He was the chief deity of the agricultural Zapotec, whom cultivated crops such as maize, beans, squash, and chili, and whom engineered sophisticated irrigation canals and terraces by the late Preclassic Period (circa 600 BC - 200 CE). Usually depicted as a formal deity with a jaguar-like snout and a serpent’s tongue, Cocijo was also an embodiment of lightning and a spiritual state that priests might transform into during ritual.
All images copyright of the University of California, Davis Department of Anthropology Museum