Grass Socks
date: label: Accession Date
content: 27 Jan 1910
name: label: Donor Name
content: U.S. Department Of Interior
notes: label: Notes
content: This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.
label: Notes
content: Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact https://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=317 , retrieved 1-5-2022; see web page for additional information: Grass socks, Inupiaq. Woven grass socks were worn inside skin boots to have warm, dry feet. Additional layers of insulation could be added, such as fur socks, wool socks, and bottom pads of folded grass. At night, socks and boot pads were hung by the oil lamp to dry. Grass was used for socks, insoles, mats, sails, bags and coiled baskets. Grass socks were worn inside skin boots during all seasons to absorb moisture and provide insulation. Along the Bering Sea coast, women wove socks from cotton grass (Eriophorum angustifolium), rye grass (Elymus mollis), or sedge. Grass is a good material for this purpose because it can be repeatedly moistened and dried without breaking. Most socks were made using a simple twining pattern, with the sole more tightly woven than the upper parts. Some were ornamented with different colored grasses. Pads of grass and skin socks were also used to keep feet dry and warm. A grass insole acted as a soft cushion, created a layer of moisture-absorbing insulation, and reduced wear to the boot. In winter, people wore ankle-high socks made from seal, caribou or reindeer skin. At night, socks and boot pads were hung by an oil lamp or elsewhere in the house to dry.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 1 Jul 2022
label: Specimen Count
content: 2
place: label: Place
content: Norton Sound, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Eskimo, Inupiaq
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 051115
label: USNM Number
content: E260720-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Sock
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 30 cm