Preview
Description
Most of the textiles used during the Mississippian period was made of woven plant fibers, for example mulberry bark, hemp, and yucca. Because these items were created from organic materials, they were not often preserved as part of the archaeological record. Some examples did survive, however, like the highly fragmentary examples found here at the site of Chucalissa. The textile pictured here was actually burned at some point pre-depositionally, and this carbonization of the material is likely what allowed it to survive long-term. Often textile remains can only be excavated within the surrounding soil matrix, as the woven plant fibers are too fragile to remove. In some lucky few cases, however, the textile fragments are stable enough to be fully removed from the soil matrix.
Recommended Citation
Museum, Chucalissa, "Textile Fragments" (2022). Artifacts. 93.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/chnash-museum-chucalissa-gallery2/93
Keywords
Textiles; Plant Fiber
