| OCR Text |
Show THE ANCIENT BASKET MAKERS OF SOUTHEASTERN UTAH in which the Basket Makers differ from the Cliff people : at all events, the matter is worthy of further study. The baskets taken from the various caves of the Grand Gulch region, and shown for the first time in this case, form as complete a collection of pre- historic wickerwork as may be Basketry. ^^ in this countr>% and present a new field for the student of ancient weaves. All the large baskets were found with the Basket Makers. The Cliff Dwellers made baskets, and may have learned the art from these people, but most of their productions were small and unornamented. According to Mc- Loyd and Graham: " The large flat baskets or platters have only been found in the underground rooms that have been mentioned." These large dishes or trays are well represented in the Museum exhibit. THE WETHERILL COLLECTION. The northern half of the case is devoted to the material col-lected by the Wetherill brothers and is the first collection of note that came from the Grand Gulch country. The unique character of many of these baskets would warrant a technical treatment, and the weaves, materials, dyes and designs are all deserving of a more detailed description than this account will permit. The baskets that claim attention when the case is first ap-proached are the ones that cover the" bodies. They are really Burden burden baskets and, though used to cover the bodies Baskets. after death, were not specifically mortuary baskets. They are from three to four feet in diameter and are conical in form. Some of them still retain their carrying cords and show evidences of long use. As burden baskets they were no doubt used in carrying wood, grain, fruits etc. They are of the coil pattern and have the three- stick core. We find this form of basket in use at the present time among the Apaches, Pah Utes and most of the tribes of northern and central California. In the modern tribes, however, almost all baskets of this shape are of the bam tush weave, a weave in which the warp is perpen-dicular instead of being in the form of a horizontal coil. The ornamentation here shown is angular and well defined, 14 |
