Large mush boiler basket. Tag "kitsa Lassik" second tag "Lassik". Third tag "G177". Per Ralph Shanks: Twined basket cooking bowl, used. Crossed warp starting knot, not Northwestern California style, and has several plain twined wefts woven over the warps, see 1-97844 as another example. Warps are a peeled shoot and the wefts are conifer root (Pinophyta) with a beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax) design overlay. The lattice twined rod is covered with a peeled shoot material. Starting at the starting knot there is three strand twining for 2 1/2 inches, followed by plain twining for 1 inch, followed by one weft row of three strand twining, followed by plain twining for 5 3/4 inches, followed by a weft row of three strand twining, followed by 5 1/2 inches of plain twining, followed by one weft row of lattice twining over a large rod, followed by four weft rows of three strand twining. The rim is trimmed, with many of the warp sticks extending up to 1/6th of an inch above the rim. The design is six horizontal bands, one plain band followed by three zigzag bands, followed by one band of triangles, followed by a plain band. The basket has an exterior workface. The overlay is on the exterior and irregularly in the interior. The slant of weft twist is up to the right; the work direction is to the right. The basket undulates.
Donor:
Phoebe Apperson Hearst and University of California Archaeological Survey
Collection place:
Blocksburg, Humboldt County, California
Verbatim coll. place:
California; Humboldt; Blocksburg
Culture or time period:
Lassik
Collector:
Pliny Earle Goddard
Collection date:
1903
Materials:
Common beargrass and Conifer root
Taxon:
Pinophyta and Xerophyllum tenax
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Cooking baskets and Twined weaving
Function:
1.5 Household
Accession date:
1903
Context of use:
Mush boiler.
Department:
Native California (archaeology and ethnology)
Dimensions:
diameter 41 centimeters and height 30 centimeters
Comment:
Native name: "kitsa" Photo: "15-8620" Remarks: "For materials see Supplementary catalogue 1, p. 16" Per Ruth Merrill: Warp is Hazel, weft is Spruce root.