Perishable: Bound Twigs AZRU8-2783

Summary

Bound Twigs, Accession AZRU-00008, Catalog #2783. Morris FS 3731. Analyzed by Laurie Webster, 2006. Small bundle of juniper twigs bound crosswise with two yucca strips, each tied with a square knot. Measurements: L 8.0, D 2.0 CM. Image: AZRU8-2783 A: small bundle of juniper twigs bound with two yucca-leaf ties in square knots. Recovered from Earl Morris' excavation of Room 147, Aztec West Ruin. Earl Morris’ description of Room 147 at the time of excavation is as follows: “the immediate floor covering was a foot of refuse, with Burials Nos. 60 and 61 on the surface of the refuse…[long listing of artifacts]… In each end of the west wall is a ventilator opening and in the north half of the east wall is a hole made by relic hunters…The one ceiling support was a pine trunk extending from north to south. The poles were of cottonwood, spaced in threes, and spanning the entire length of the room. The support broke, first at the center, and again at the north wall. In consequence, the ceiling bagged down more than 2 feet at the central point and probably would have completely fallen during the last forty years, wreaking havoc with the contents of Room 136-2, had not the early visitors to the ruin set up a post with a cap piece beneath the break in the stringer” (Morris 1928:379).

Reference: Earl Morris, 1928, Notes on Excavations in the Aztec Ruin, Volume XXVI, Part V, Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1110 to 1140 (Late Chacoan)

Calendar Date: 1140 to 1280 (Post-Chacoan)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Gary Brown

Contributor(s): Lori Reed; Anne Grulich; American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY; Aztec Ruins National Monument

Principal Investigator(s): Laurie Webster

Repository(s): Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, NM; American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY

Record Identifiers

Aztec Ruins National Monument Accession Number(s): AZRU-0008

Notes

General Note: Artifact was collected from Aztec West Ruin excavations by Earl Morris between 1916 and 1922. Morris' excavations were sponsored and funded by the American Museum of Natural History, New York.

General Note: High resolution images of the item are archived and available to researchers through the National Park Service, Aztec Ruins National Monument.

General Note: Publication or use of the image is restricted; permission may be obtained through consultation with American Museum of Natural History and Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Source Collections

Original Item: Property of American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Image: NPS, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

Original Item: Housed at Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

Related Comparative Collections

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at Hibben Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at American Museum of Natural History, New York

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

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