The Archaeology of the Yakima Valley Part 12

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 71 _a_ (202-8229). Fragment of Matting, made of Twined Rush, st.i.tched together with twisted cord. From under the pelvis of skeleton in grave No. 33 (4) in a rock-slide, near the mouth of Cherry Creek, below Ellensburg. _b_ Diagram of St.i.tch of _a_. 1/2 nat.

size.]

Matting (202-8162) made of tule stalks st.i.tched together with cords twisted to the right, but made of large stalks was found in a recent grave, No. 10 (5) in the rock-slide on the north side of the Naches River, half a mile above its mouth. Part of this was of a similar type and st.i.tched with similar cords and part was of the more common form of sewed matting such as is shown in Fig. 70. This grave had been rifled, and the presence of bark, a portion of a fire drill (202-8157), part of a wooden bow (202-8159), two pieces of a finely woven basket (202-8160) and copper tubes apparently of rolled copper, suggest that it was modern.

Fig. 72 ill.u.s.trates the technique of a piece of matting of open twine weaving made of rush which was found under the pelvis of the skeleton in grave No. 33 (4) of a youth in a rock-slide near the mouth of Cherry Creek, below Ellensburg. Spinden states that mats were made in the Nez Perce area, of cat-tail stalks held together by two twined cords and that mats were used for house and floor coverings and as sheets upon which to dry berries.[252]

[252] Spinden, p. 195.

The string of all these fragments of matting was too much decayed or fragmentary for determination. It will be remembered that both sewed and woven matting were found in the graves of the Thompson River region,[253] as well as among the living Indians. It seems probable that these mats were made and used one above the other like great shingles for covering the summer house, for beds and for wrapping the dead, while the thinner pieces may have served for garments. Food was probably spread on them to dry and they no doubt served many other purposes. The art of weaving was practised to a considerable extent in the Nez Perce region to the east, although it had very slight development in the Plains area, still further east.[254]

[253] Smith (c), p. 423.

[254] Spinden, p. 190.

Cord made of vegetable fibre (202-8233) found in grave No. 34 (5) (99-4329) in a rock-slide near the mouth of Cherry Creek, below Ellensburg, upon which copper and sh.e.l.l beads were strung was made of two strands, some twisted to the right, others, to the left and in some cases a single cord was used for stringing the beads, while in other cases three cords were used.

A roll of birch bark (202-8392) was found in grave No. 38 (1) (99-4333) in a rock-slide, on the west side of the Columbia River near the head of Priest Rapids. It is the only specimen of this kind that was found by us in the whole area although it will be remembered[255] that such rolls of birch bark were frequently found in graves of the Thompson River region.

As stated on p. 84, we considered this grave to be modern.

[255] Smith, (d), Fig. 117.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 72 (202-8230). Fragment of Open-Twine Matting, made of Rush. From under the pelvis of skeleton in grave No. 33 (4) of a youth in a rock-slide near the mouth of Cherry Creek, below Ellensburg.

1/2 nat. size.]

_Ornaments._ A great variety of ornaments was found, but most of these were in graves considered to be modern. Among the finds which appear to be old, none of them having been found in graves considered to be modern, none of them appearing to be made of commercial material and all of which seem to be of native technique are perforated disks of stone (202-8152), and bone, (202-8227), a perforated and engraved sea sh.e.l.l (202-8388), and haliotis sh.e.l.l from the Pacific Ocean (202-8393), both plain and polished dentalium sh.e.l.ls, pendants made of what is apparently haliotis sh.e.l.l, a nose ornament also apparently made of haliotis sh.e.l.l (202-8252), and beads made of sh.e.l.l.

Red and yellow ochre, blue copper clay, and white earth, which may have been used for paint such as was found in the Thompson River region[256]

were not seen by us in this area. Although charcoal, which may have been mixed with grease and used for paint, was frequently found there was no evidence of such use.

[256] Smith, (d), p. 150; (c), p. 424.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 73. Comb made of Antler. From a grave at Fort Simcoe. 1/2 nat. size. (Drawn from photograph 44510, 6-12. Original in the collection of Mrs. Lynch.)]

_Combs._ Only one comb was seen and nowhere throughout the area were found any objects known to have been used as head scratchers such as were not uncommon in the Thompson River region.[257] The comb (Fig. 73) is made of antler and was found where a creek had washed it out of an old grave at Fort Simcoe. The teeth are convex in outline, the back is nearly straight but not quite parallel with the line of the teeth and the ends convex, the rear end being shorter than the other. The nineteen teeth (one perhaps being rather wide to be considered) are set out from each other by grooves on each side of the comb. This edge of the object is somewhat sharpened making the lower end of each tooth resemble the shape of a celt or wedge. Near the back of the comb are three perforations, one in the middle and one at each end, the latter being about equi-distant from both the back and the end of the comb. The hole near the short end of the comb was drilled tapering from the reverse, while the two other holes were drilled tapering part way through from each side, but slightly farther from the reverse than the obverse. The specimen is in the collection of Mrs. Jay Lynch at Fort Simcoe.[258] A comb made of antler was found by us at Lytton[259] but none were seen among archaeological finds from the other parts of the Thompson River region,[260] although wooden combs are found among the Indians there, as in the Nez Perce region where modern combs were made of narrow strips of wood lashed together.[261] A comb of antler was found by us in the main sh.e.l.l heap at Eburne in the Fraser Delta.[262]

[257] Smith, (c), p. 424; Teit (a), p. 312.

[258] Museum negative no. 44510, 6-12.

[259] Smith, (d), Fig. 83.

[260] Smith, (c), p. 424.

[261] Spinden, p. 221.

[262] Smith, (a), Fig. 12.

_Beads._ Among beads, some made of gla.s.s are certainly modern. Judging from these gla.s.s beads, others found a.s.sociated with them or with things of white manufacture in the same grave are also modern; while some seem to be old and from sites believed to be ancient. Besides objects truly of the shape of beads, there are others, as for instance the tubes of copper such as are shown in Figs. 74 and 78, some of which were found strung with simple bead forms. Otherwise, they might possibly not have been considered as beads. Fig. 121 suggests how such tubular beads of copper may have been worn on armlets and headdresses. In Fig. 74 are ill.u.s.trated two fragmentary strings of several types of beads from a number which were found on the neck, arms and legs of a skeleton in grave number 34 (5) in a rock-slide near the mouth of Cherry Creek below Ellensburg. The short cylinders are sections of dentalium sh.e.l.ls, longer sections appearing occasionally. The longest cylinders are sheet copper rolled into cylindrical form. The lapping edge, in most of the beads ill.u.s.trated is irregular and varies in thickness, which suggests that they were beaten out of native copper rather than cut out of factory-rolled copper. Of course this appearance might be given to the latter by beating it. Such rolled beads made of copper are found in the Nez Perce region to the east[263] and in the Thompson River area to the north.[264] These sh.e.l.l and copper beads consequently might be considered ancient from their individual appearance, but on the shorter string are some more or less spherical beads made of gla.s.s which of course shows that all these beads were used in comparatively recent times. The beads on the longer string are strung upon coa.r.s.e plant fiber twisted into a two strand string while the shorter string is upon a much smaller fiber also of two strands which are twisted. Some of the other beads in this lot were strung upon thongs.

[263] Spinden, Plate IX, Figs. 16-18.

[264] Smith, (c), Fig. 371.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 74 (202-8233). Beads made of Copper, Gla.s.s and Sections of Dentalium Sh.e.l.ls. From neck, arms and legs of skeleton in grave No. 34 (5) in a rock-slide near the mouth of Cherry Creek, below Ellensburg. 1/2 nat. size.]

The tubular bead shown in Fig. 75 is made of bra.s.s, proving conclusively that it is recent. It was found in grave No. 1 of the Yakima ridge, which contained a number of other objects that might characterize the grave as ancient were it not for the presence of bra.s.s beads. A smaller but slightly shorter bra.s.s bead was found with this. It contained a piece of stick, but this may be merely the remains of a rootlet many of which had penetrated into the grave. The edges of the outer fold as well as the ends of the bead are irregular and thinned out similar to the corresponding parts of the copper beads shown in Fig. 74. This suggests that the bra.s.s may have been pounded into sheets by the natives or at least that factory-rolled bra.s.s was pounded by them in manufacturing the bead. It also shows that this characteristic of the edges of copper objects, while it may suggest that they were beaten out of native copper and are consequently ancient, does not prove it. Tubular copper beads with short sections of dentalium sh.e.l.l were found mixed all the way from the top to the bottom of grave number 10 (5) in a rock-slide on the north side of the Naches River about half a mile above its mouth. Some of these were slightly larger than those shown in Fig. 74.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 75 (202-8148). Bead made of Bra.s.s. From grave No. 1 in a rock-slide of the Yakima Ridge. Nat. size.]

The bone tubes shown in Figs. 97 and 98 and those described on p. 105 under games, may possibly have been intended for beads or ornaments.

Beads were made of bones of birds in the Nez Perce region to the east.[265] The perforated cylinder made of serpentine or steat.i.te shown in Fig. 99 may also have been used as a bead or ornament instead of for gambling. Sh.e.l.l beads of disk shape such as are shown in Fig. 76 were found in three places. Those figured were among the refuse of a grave in a rock-slide near the head of Priest Rapids. Two were found in grave No.

7 (4) in a rock-slide on the northern side of the Yakima Ridge. A bra.s.s b.u.t.ton and three gla.s.s beads were found with them. Twenty-eight of them were found in the grave of a child in a rock-slide on the west side of the Columbia River near the head of Priest Rapids. All these beads seem to be drilled from both sides or at least each end of the bore is slightly larger than the middle. Somewhat similar disk-shaped beads, apparently made of sh.e.l.l are found in the Nez Perce region to the east,[266] the Thompson area to the north[267] and in the Fraser Delta[268] of the coast country to the west.

[265] Spinden, p. 189.

[266] Spinden, Plate IX, Figs. 12 and 13.

[267] Smith, (d), p. 153; (c), p. 427.

[268] Smith, (a), p. 179.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 76 (202-8384). Beads made of Sh.e.l.l. From refuse of a grave in a rock-slide near the head of Priest Rapids. Nat. size.]

_Dentalium Sh.e.l.ls._ Dentalium sh.e.l.ls, some broken or cut into short sections, were found in twelve of the graves of this region. Two of these graves were in domes of volcanic ash and probably old; five of them were cremation circles, also ancient, while five were rock-slide graves of which three were surely modern, and two probably so. It will be seen that the dentalia beads are found in about equal proportions in old and recent graves, there being seven examples of the former and five of the latter. One lot of dentalia found in a cremation circle was charred. None of the dentalia found in the rock-slide graves were incised while in one of the graves in a dome of volcanic ash incised dentalia were found together with the sculptured human form in antler shown in Fig. 121 on which are represented what appear to be dentalium sh.e.l.ls forming parts of ear or hair pendants. Incised dentalia were also found in two of the five cremation circles containing dentalium sh.e.l.ls.

Some of the incised designs on dentalium sh.e.l.ls are shown in Figs. 117 and 118. An idea of how the dentalium sh.e.l.ls may have been used as ornaments on arm bands and headdresses may be had by reference to Fig.

121 and p. 101. Somewhat similarly incised dentalium sh.e.l.ls were found at the large burial place at Kamloops in the southern interior of British Columbia to the north,[269] and in the Nez Perce region to the east bits of engraved dentalium sh.e.l.ls are found in the graves of children.[270] Strings of them were hung from the ears or fastened to the braids of hair and dentalia were attached to the dresses of the women.[271] Among antiquities they are found as far east as central Wyoming. There are some dentalium sh.e.l.ls decorated with windings along lines somewhat similar in the collections from the Hupa of California.

Dentalium sh.e.l.ls used as nose ornaments, ear pendants or parts of ornaments and as beads were also found in the Thompson region.[272] A few were found on the coast in the Fraser Delta,[273] but while they are to be seen in collections from living Indians and recent graves they were not found among antiquities elsewhere on the coast of British Columbia and Washington.[274] It seems noteworthy that while the sh.e.l.ls are plentiful on the coast where they are used by the modern people they could only have been obtained in the Thompson River region and the Yakima Valley by barter. In the north, they were imported until recently through the Chilcotin country from the region north of Vancouver Island.[275] In the Yakima Valley, however, they were probably brought in by a more southern route and from places further south on the coast.

My impression is that the Fraser Valley was not used as a route for the importation.

[269] Smith, (c), Fig. 379.

[270] Spinden, p. 181, Plate IX, Fig. 15.

[271] _Ibid._, p. 220.

[272] Smith, (c), pp. 425 and 427, (d), pp. 134 and 153.

[273] Smith, (a), p. 180.

[274] Smith, (b), pp. 319 and 387.

[275] Smith, (c), p. 408.