Ohio History Journal

TEXTILE FABRICS FROM THE BURIAL MOUNDS OF

THE GREAT EARTHWORK BUILDERS OF OHIO

By CHARLES C. WILLOUGHBY

 

 

A brief description of the various types of primitive weaving

shown in the cloth from the burial mounds of the great earthwork

builders of Ohio will help materially to a clearer understanding

of the early pre-loom stages of the textile art in general which

probably passed through a similar evolution in certain other parts

of the world. Primitive weaving doubtless had its origin in the

building of fish weirs, game fences and wattle work of other

kinds, the refined technic of which appears in many of the mound

cloths.

There seems to be no evidence of the employment of the loom

in producing any of the fabrics from the Ohio mounds. A crude

framework consisting of two stakes and a crossbar or a similar

contrivance was probably in use for suspending the warp in the

larger pieces but the manipulation of the woof seems to have been

principally the work of the fingers, perhaps in some instances

aided by a twig or needle.

Most if not all of these mound types of woven cloth have

continued among various tribes into early historic times. Some

of the finer and more elaborate varieties obtained from early his-

toric Indians of the Great Lakes area have not been found in the

Ohio mounds but this does not prove that at least some of them

were not known to the earthwork builders.

The greater portion of the cloth from these mounds has been

preserved by carbonization and is of a jet black color. It has

often been found with cremated human remains or been taken

from sacrificial altars. Other pieces have been preserved by con-

tact with native copper objects placed with ordinary burials. Such

pieces often are stained green in spots with copper carbonate

which is an excellent preservative. Fragments thus preserved

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sometimes show their original colors and texture so perfectly that

the identification of the species of plant furnishing the fiber is

possible.

The material used in the production of this cloth was prob-

ably the same in general as that employed by early historic tribes

of the northern central region of the United States. It was prin-

cipally of vegetal fiber obtained from the stalks of various plants

such as Indian hemp (Apocinum cannabinum), nettle and other

varieties, also the inner bark of the linden, slippery elm and other

trees. Typical bulrush mats were used, fragments having been

taken from the Harness group.

The charred condition of many of the mound fabrics often

renders the identification of the plants from which the fiber was

obtained difficult. It seems probable that the hair of the buffalo,

bear and rabbit may have been employed either alone or in com-

bination with vegetal fiber although I recall but one instance of

such use by the Mound-builders of Ohio. This will be described in

due course. The use of hair or wool in the making of cloth ap-

pears to have been more common among the builders of the great

mounds of the southern states, numerous examples having been

obtained during recent explorations.

In the weaving of baskets and mats, semi-rigid material was

employed such as bulrushes, split canes and split shoots from

trees and shrubs, but in weaving pliable cloth much finer material

was needed.

The vertical warp cords of these fabrics are of three kinds:

1st, A group of strands not twisted together but held in place

by the horizontal woof cords. Fig. I, h.

2nd, One or more strands twisted toward the right in a dextral

or contrary clockwise direction. This is the first or primary twist.

3rd, Two primary cords of the second group twisted together

toward the left or in the sinistral direction. This is the secondary

twisting of the cord.

These distinctions should be borne in mind as they are often

referred to in the descriptions of the fabrics. In the large number

of examples of cloth that I have examined from the mounds of

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Ohio the cords are all prepared in one of the three ways described

above. In some other sections of the United States the twisting

is in the opposite direction.

The types of weaving from the Ohio mounds consist prin-

cipally of the following six groups:

1. Braided or checker weaving, Fig. 1, j, o.

2. Simple in-and-out weaving, Fig. 1, i.

3. Twilled weaving, Fig. 1, n.

4. Simple twined weaving, open, Fig. 1, k, l; closed, Fig.

l, m.

5. Twill-twined weaving, open, Fig. 1, e, f.; closed, Fig 1, g.

6. Coiled netting, Fig. 1, a, b, c, d.

All but three of the illustrations (Fig. 1) show one square

inch of the cloth natural size. The three exceptions, a, c, e, are

enlargements of b, d, f, and show the technic of the latter group

more clearly. The appearance of the finished cloth of a given

group may vary considerably, depending largely upon how much

the woof cords are separated; this variance will be seen by com-

paring Fig. 1, k, l with the central portion of m, all of which

belong to the simple twined group.

 

Braided or Checker Weaving.

Braided or checker weave is the simplest form of mound

fabric; examples appear in Fig. 1, j and o. This method seems

to have been used largely for belts, bands and other narrow objects

the shapes and sizes of which would allow easy interlacing of

the cords with the fingers. The example shown in j is of natural

size and has the selvage upon either side. It measures one and

one-fourth inches in width. There are about thirty-four cords

to the inch. It was obtained by Clarence B. Moore and Gerard

Fowke in 1894 from the Van Meter Mound, three miles south of

Piketown, Pike County. It is much carbonized and may have

been a head band or perhaps used for wrapping a hair braid.

The specimen illustrated in o, from the Seip Mound, Bain-

bridge, Ross County, is probably a fragment of a sash or loin

cloth and the small piece from which the drawing was made has

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a circular spot of reddish brown color which seems to indicate

that the cloth was originally decorated with a design in one or

more colors by staining. It will be noted that the two series of

cords forming the fabric do not cross each other at right angles.

This is usually true in hand braiding.

Fragments of another braided cloth from the Seip Mound

are of unusual interest as they show a combination of vegetal

fiber and rabbit hair. Most of this hair has disintegrated and

disappeared leaving loosely twisted vegetal fiber cords braided

together, which gives the appearance of a very loosely woven

fabric. There are, however, a few small areas showing the cloth

as it originally appeared. The process of preparing the cords for

braiding was evidently as follows: The two single vegetal strands

forming the double twisted cords were as usual twisted to the

right and before they were placed together and again twisted they

were neatly wrapped with rabbit hair which had been stained red.

This wrapping naturally increased the size of the two strands

which were then twisted together to the left, forming a single

cord of the material for braiding. As the finished fabric origi-

nally appeared, however, it was a closely woven, soft, pliable

cloth of red color, the wrapped rabbit hair completely filling the

spaces between the cords which average about twelve to fourteen

to the inch. The preserved portion of the fabric had lain in con-

tact with some copper object. It was not charred, neither had it

been exposed to smoke. This is the only cloth from the Ohio

area the material of which consists wholly or in part of animal

hair that has come to my attention, although it is highly probable

that hair or wool was more commonly used in weaving in this

area than evidence indicates, for several examples have been taken

from the temple mounds of the South although many of these

mounds are doubtless of a later period than those of Ohio.

From the Etowah Temple Mound in northern Georgia Dr.

W. K. Moorehead obtained a fragment some ten by twelve inches

in size of a mantle which had been preserved by contact with a

copper plate. This garment was apparently covered with a sym-

metrical arrangement of symbols representing two concentric cir-

cles enclosing an equal-armed cross arranged alternately with a

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larger cross without rings but having a central disc. The natural

light color of these designs appears against a dark red background.

This garment must have been a beautiful one originally.¹ It is

in simple twined weaving, much like Fig. I, l, although somewhat

coarser, with warp cords about twenty to the inch, double woof

cords about eight to the inch. The cords forming the garment

were prepared like those described above with wrappings of rab-

bit hair.

Rabbit hair was also used both with and without the addition

of vegetal fiber by the people of the Spiro Mound of Oklahoma

recently explored by the Archaeological Department of the Uni-

versity of that state. The Peabody Museum of Harvard has

several fragments of textiles from this mound, one of which is

woven of buffalo hair in checker weave. Another is a fragment

of what is probably a mantle in twined weaving ornamented with

flag-like figures in red and black. The warp is of vegetal fiber,

the woof forming the background of the designs is a light brown

and is composed of a mixture of rabbit hair and vegetal fiber, each

one of a pair of cords forming the twined background being

twisted in opposite directions, thus producing a patterned surface

like that shown on the well-known woven shoes from the Ken-

tucky caves and shelters, while the woof forming the figures is

wholly of rabbit hair dyed either red or black. The dyeing was

done before weaving and the figures were produced by weaving

the colored cords back and forth, a material advance over the

production of designs by staining after the fabric is woven.

A large fragment some fifty-six inches long by fourteen

inches wide of what seems to be a shawl or mantle from the

Spiro Mound is in the collection of H. M. Trowbridge of Kansas.

I have a photograph of this and also a small fragment, which Mr.

Trowbridge very kindly sent me, evidently from the same garment.

This is dyed a brownish red, the weaving is of the twill-twined

variety, the cords are of primary twist, the number of cords to

the inch for the warp being eight, for the woof three, the finished

 

1 I have illustrated this fragment showing the design in my paper in Warren

King Moorehead's Exploration of the Etowah Site in Georgia (New Haven,

1932), Fig. 34.

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product being much like that shown in Fig. 1, f, but much coarser.

The material is wholly of spun rabbit hair, no vegetal fiber ap-

pearing as a foundation for the cords.

I am indebted to Dr. E. E. Tyzzer of the Department of

Comparative Pathology of the Harvard Medical School for the

identification of the hair used in these and other cloths from the

mounds. The material of this large fragment was also identified

for its owner by the Bureau of Standards at Washington as being

made of "Rabbit hair or allied hair."

 

Simple In-and-Out Weaving.

An example of simple in-and-out weaving from the great

mound of the Hopewell group, Ross County, is illustrated in i of

Fig. 1. In this specimen the warp cords are doubled and arranged

in pairs. The selvage thus formed and drawn close to the edge of

the woof would be inconspicuous. The woof cords are single and

are inserted without twining in pairs as shown in the lower section

of the drawing, i, and are technically different from the doubled

twined woof in the lower portion of m.

 

Twilled Weaving.

Fig. 1, n, shows a piece of cloth in twilled weaving. The

material is apparently vegetal fiber and has been carbonized by

combined heat and smoke. There are twelve to fourteen cords to

the inch. It was obtained from the Westenhaver Mound, Pick-

away County, Scioto Valley. A similar fragment was obtained

from the Tremper Effigy Mound near Portsmouth. Another

specimen from a grave in Manchester, Massachusetts, having a

fringe upon one edge, was probably a piece of mantle or shawl.

 

Simple Twined Weaving.

Simple twined weaving, examples of which appear in k, l and

m of Fig. 1, is commonly found in many of the mounds and

occurs in various degrees of fineness. This is a form of weaving

used also in the construction of fish weirs and other large objects.

It occurs in cloth in various degrees of fineness but one rarely

finds a piece finer than l of Fig. 1. In this type of weave the

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cords are often of the secondary twist. In k, the warp is seven

to the inch, the woof cords being placed three-fourths of an inch

apart. This was doubtless a coarsely woven flat bag some eighteen

or twenty inches square such as has been in common use by

Algonquian and Siouan tribes within historic times.  It was

obtained from the Tremper Mound near Portsmouth.

The finer example of this weaving, l, is from the Seip Mound.

The warp and woof are both of secondary twist and have been

identified as composed of the fiber of the swamp milkweed. Warp

cords are about twenty-seven to the inch, double woof cords

twelve to the inch. It is an excellent example of the finer qualities

of this weave. It is uncharred, having been preserved by con-

tact with some copper object, much of the cloth appearing in its

natural light color.

An example of close simple twined weaving having the double

woof cords pressed close together appears in Fig. 1, m. The

upper selvage is formed by wrapping several horizontal cords

together and allowing portions used for wrapping to fall down-

ward to form the warp. The double woof cords are then added,

each series being pressed closely against the preceding one. Warp

is seven to the inch, double woof about fifteen to the inch. Both

warp and woof cords are of bast and belong to the double twisted

secondary group. This is from the Harness (Liberty) Mound,

Ross County.

Other examples of this same close twined weaving were

obtained from a multiple burial from the Seip Mound, Ross

County. The bodies had been covered with one or more large

mantles or shawls which lay in contact with three copper plates

of the type found with many of the mound burials. The cloth

where it came in contact with the copper was remarkably well

preserved when first exposed to the air and showed very clearly

the stained color design with which the garment was decorated.

That portion preserved by the copper plates, of course, formed

only a small part of the mantle, the remainder of which had prac-

tically disappeared through disintegration. Fortunately the pre-

served portions of the designs were copied in water colors by

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Mr. H. R. Goodwin of the Ohio State Museum staff before the

drying and checking of the cloth adhering to the copper had prac-

tically destroyed both design and coloring.

The designs on the cloth adhering to the three copper plates

are illustrated in Fig. 2. The background is a dark maroon, the

designs are in clear yellow outlined in black and are shown about

one-fourth natural size. The nearly square designs in b, which

appear uncolored, were thought by Mr. Goodwin to be of a differ-

ent weave from the rest of the fabric, but owing to the final dis-

integration of the cloth this opinion could not be verified. The

remaining portion of the garment was of a simple, close twined

weave of the type shown in the central portion of m, Fig. I, from

the Harness group. The mantle under discussion, however, has a

warp of about nine to the inch and a double woof of twenty-

eight to the inch, which although of the same weave is consider-

ably finer.

It is, of course, impossible to reconstruct the complete design

from these small fragments but an excellent idea can be obtained

of the type of work they represent by examining the incised draw-

ings upon bone, stone and other material shown in my paper on

the art of this people in the Holmes Anniversary Volume (Wash-

ington, 1916), or its reprint in the Annual Report of the Smith-

sonian Institution for 1916 (Washington, 1917), Plates 6, 7, 8

and 10. It will at once be apparent that similar conventional

designs were used in ornamenting garments and doubtless other

perishable objects of which practically no example remains extant.

This high development of native art was unequalled by that of

any people north of Mexico.

Twill-twined Weaving.

Figures f and h of Fig. I show two examples of twill-twining.

The fiber of the first mentioned, which shows an open weave,

according to Professor J. H. Schaffner of the Ohio State Uni-

versity is swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and it is neither

smoked nor charred and retains its original color. This frag-

ment was preserved by its nearness to some native copper object

as there are a few spots of copper carbonate upon it. Both warp

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TEXTILE FABRICS FROM OHIO MOUNDS           283

 

and woof are of secondary twist, warp thirty-six to forty cords

to the inch, double woof about seventeen to the inch. This was

obtained from the Seip Mound. It is one of the finest and most

delicate examples of this weave that has been recovered. To its

left, in Fig. 1, e, is a small portion enlarged to show more clearly

the technic of the weave.

In Fig. 1, h, of this plate appears a coarser example of twill-

twining the material of which is much less carefully prepared.

The warp is either not twisted or is twisted but slightly and the

fineness of the work in various pieces varies considerably. In

nearly all examples of this coarser cloth each woof cord is of

secondary twist. This specimen is from the Westenhaver Mound,

Pickaway County.

The fragment of cloth illustrated in Fig. 1, g, is from a

mound near Piketown, Pike County, and is one of the finest pieces

yet obtained from Ohio. It is an excellent example of close twill-

twining. Holmes figured and described it in his "Prehistoric

Textile Art" in the Thirteenth Annual Report, 1891/92, of the

Bureau of American Ethnology (Washington, 1896). Warp

cords are about twenty-eight to the inch, double woof cords about

forty to the inch. The technic becomes clear by studying the

enlargement, Fig. 1, e, which is essentially the same type. If the

three upper horizontal double woof cords there shown were pressed

close together they would appear like the woof in g. A cloth

nearly identical with this, of the same weave but considerably

finer, warp forty and double woof forty-two to the inch, was

taken from a grave in the Temple Mound of the Etowah group

by Dr. Moorehead and is now at Andover.

 

Coiled Netting.

The only examples of coiled netting that I have seen from

the Ohio mounds are illustrated in Fig. 1, b and d. Both were

taken from the great mound of the Hopewell group by Dr. Moore-

head in 1891-2. They are now in the Field Museum at Chicago.

This type of work was used largely for bags by historic tribes

in northern America, but in northern Mexico in prehistoric days,

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sashes and other fabrics were woven in this stitch. It is especially

useful in the making of small bags as the weaving can be carried

forward by continuous coiling.  The examples illustrated are

probably from small bags used for carrying personal belongings.

The cord used for making the example illustrated in b is of

primary twist; that used in the production of d is of secondary

twist. In other words, the cord used in the making of b if it

were doubled and again twisted would be the same as in d. This

appears more clearly in a and c which are enlargements of the

stitches in b and d.

Types of Weaving from Various Mound Groups

Charlestown, Jackson County.

A. D. 1838.    J. W. Foster.    Pieces enveloping copper

rings, braided.

Middletown, Butler County.

1851. P. M.,2 No. 76912, twill-twined weaving. Warp about

fifteen to the inch, double woof, eight to the inch.

Harness (Liberty) Group, Ross County.

1884. P. M., No. 34906. Fig. 1, m, simple twined weaving.

Warp seven to the inch, double woof about fifteen to the inch.

1903-5. 0. S. A. H. M.,³ No. 7-A, twill-twined weaving.

Warp mostly not twisted, about twenty to the inch, double woof,

ten to the inch. No. 7-C, piece of coarse bagging, simple twined

weaving. Warp but slightly twisted, a few cords secondary twist.

Warp five or six to the inch, double woof cords seven-eighths

of an inch apart.

Hopewell Group, Ross County.

1891-2. F. M. N. H.,⁴ W. K. Moorehead's exploration.

Simple twined weaving.   See my paper, Holmes Anniversary

Volume, Plate 13, Fig. h. Warp about thirteen to the inch, double

woof five to the inch. Same plate, Fig. g, simple twined weaving,

warp about twenty-nine to the inch, double woof six to the inch,

arranged in groups of three. Same plate, Fig. a, twill-twined

 

2 Peabody Museum of Harvard University.

3 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society Museum.

4 Field Museum of Natural History.

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TEXTILE FABRICS FROM OHIO MOUNDS          285

 

weaving, warp about forty to the inch, double woof about ten

to the inch. This specimen much like Fig. 1, f. Simple in-and-

out weaving, Fig. 1, i, warp six to the inch, woof about twenty-

five to the inch. Fragment of small bag, Fig. 1, a, b, coiled

netting, about ten loops to the inch and six rows or coils to the

inch, primary twisted cord. Fragment of small coiled netting

bag, secondary twist, c, d of Fig. 1, about twelve loops to the inch

and eleven coils or rows to the inch. Fig. 1, a and c are enlarge-

ments of b and d to show more clearly the technic of netting.

1922-25. 0. S. A. H. M., No. 283-B, twill-twined weaving,

with warp cord fringe. Warp but slightly twisted, about twenty-

two to the inch, double woof twelve to the inch. No. 283-E,

simple twined weaving, warp about twenty-five to the inch, double

woof twelve to the inch.

Turner Group, Hamilton County.

1887-90.  P. M., twill-twined weaving.  Both warp and

woof of secondary twist, warp about forty to the inch, doubled

woof seven to the inch.

Piketown, Pike County.

1894. Gerard Fowke, Van Meter Mound, braided. P. M.,

No. 61901, about twenty-eight cords to the inch, selvage on op-

posite sides, Fig. 1, j. P. M., 61902, twill-twined weaving, warp

about twenty-four to the inch, double woof twelve to the inch.

P. M., No. 61903, loose twill-twined weaving, warp slightly

twisted about twelve to the inch, doubled woof cords three to

the inch. Collection of C. B. Moore, twilled weaving, similar

to n, Fig. 1. Very fine cloth from mound marked "³⁰ feet high"

on Squier and Davis' plan5 of Graded-way, Plate XXXI, twill-

twined weaving, warp about twenty-eight to the inch, double woof

about forty to the inch, Fig. 1, g.

Seip Group, Ross County.

O. S. A. H. M., No. B-957 (and P.M.A5925-Z), selvage

on one side, braided, fragment of scarf or loin cloth. The primary

 

5 E. G. Squier and E. H. Davis, Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley

(New York; Cincinnati, 1848), 88.

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twisted strands of vegetal fiber were each carefully wrapped with

rabbit hair dyed red, after which they were twisted together in

pairs forming single cords of secondary twist. The cords thus

fashioned were then braided together making a soft warm fabric

having about twelve to fourteen cords to the inch. No. C-957,

twill-twined weaving. Fragment of bag having dark stripes about

two inches apart, much like square flat bags of the Ojibwa and

neighboring tribes. Warp twelve to the inch, double woof cords

eight to the inch, warp but slightly twisted. Stripes consist of

two warp cords dyed brown, separated by a single undyed cord.

No. D-957, braided, Fig. 1, o, probably fragment of scarf or

loin cloth, circular spot in reddish brown stain, sixteen to twenty

cords to the inch. No. E-957, twill-twined weaving, warp not

twisted, about twenty-four to the inch, double woof cords about

ten to the inch. F-₉57, twill-twined weaving, warp not twisted,

double woof but slightly twisted. Very coarse.

P. M. No. A-5925-Y, simple twined weaving, the cords of

both warp and woof secondary twist; warp about twenty-eight

to the inch, double woof thirteen to the inch, Fig. 1, l. P. M.

No. A-5₉25-X, twill-twined weaving. Both warp and woof sec-

ondary twist, warp thirty-six to forty to the inch, double woof

about seventeen to the inch. Light colored fiber identified by

Prof. J. H. Schaffner of the Ohio State University as swamp

milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), Fig. 1, f, enlarged to show more

clearly in e. Interesting examples from the Seip Mound were

the decorated fragments preserved by contact with the copper

plates which are previously described and are illustrated in Fig. 2.

They are in close simple twined weaving. Warp about nine to

the inch, double woof about twenty-eight to the inch. 0. S. A.

H. M. Weaving like central portion of Fig. 1, m, but finer.

Westenhaver Mound, Pickaway County.

1915 . O. S. A. H. M., No. 124-A, twilled weaving, twelve

to fourteen cords to the inch. Fig. 1, n. Nos. 124-B and 124-C,

twill-twined weaving. Warp mostly not twisted, about twenty

cords to the inch, double twisted woof cords about five to the inch.

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Tremper Mound near Portsmouth, Scioto County.

1915. 0. S. A. H. M., No. 125A-1, twill-twined weaving

much like Westenhaver 124-B.    Charred fragment, twilled

weaving, like Fig. I, n. Fragment of coarse bag, No. 125-A-3,

simple twined weaving, warp seven to the inch, double woof seven-

eighths inch apart. Fig. I, k, shows this natural size.

Adena Mound in Chillicothe, Ross County.

1901. O. S. A. H. M., simple twined weave. Warp about

thirteen to the inch, double woof, four to the inch.

Alexanderville, Montgomery County.

O. S. A. H. M., simple twined weaving. Warp about seven-

teen to the inch, double woof cords one-half inch apart.

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