Split Rushes (Dyed Black)
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1876
name: label: Collector
content: E. Palmer
label: Donor Name
content: Dr. Edward Palmer
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY EXHIBIT LABEL FOR E21129, E21788 AND E21789 WITH CARD: "MATERIAL FOR BASKET MAKING AMONG THE CAHUILLA INDIANS (SHOSHONEAN STOCK). SHOWING THE ROUGH TWIGS OF THE RHUS TRILOBATA, THE SPLIT TWIGS OF THE SAME, SPLIT OSIER, AND RUSHES SPLIT AND DYED. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 21,129; 21,788; 21,789. COLLECTED BY EDWARD PALMER." See also NMNH Department of Botany Edward Palmer collections web exhibit page on this artifact: http://botany.si.edu/colls/palmer/narrative_page.cfm?Narr=11&locality= . It is noted on the web page that for making coiled baskets the Cahuilla used a grass (Muhlenbergia rigens (Benth.) Hitch.) bundle with a rush (Juncus sp.) or willow (Salix sp.) as the primary sewing material, accented with sumac (Rhus trilobata). It is also noted on the page that Palmer indicated that a black dye was produced from sea-blite (Suaeda moquinii (Torr.) Greene), which was pounded and steeped for several hours to create penetrating black dye. Palmer reported that the dark color was durable but it had a fetid smell. Black hues were also produced by burying the rush in mineral-rich mud.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 30 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: California, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Cahuilla
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 005334
label: USNM Number
content: E21789-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Botanical