Perishable artifacts and what they tell us

In most of the world, the daily life of a thousand years ago survives only as stone, ceramic, and bone. In dry canyon shelters, an astonishing amount of the rest of it has survived too.

The conventional picture of ancient daily life is shaped by what archaeologists usually find: pots, projectile points, the foundations of buildings. The food, the clothing, the cordage, the tools made of plant fiber and wood — almost all of it is gone, eaten by bacteria and time. In the dry alcoves of the Colorado Plateau, however, much of it is still here.

What survives

In a typical dry shelter context, a researcher might find:

• Yucca-fiber sandals, sometimes still tied. The weave patterns vary by region and period and serve as a kind of cultural fingerprint.
• Basketry, in coiled, plaited, and twined forms, made of plant fibers including yucca, willow, sumac, and grass.
• Cordage — twisted plant or animal fiber rope and string, often in remarkable preservation.
• Wooden tools: digging sticks, fire drills, atlatl shafts, bow staves, weaving battens.
• Plant-fiber clothing, including aprons, sandals, and remarkably, complete yucca-fiber sandals with cordage repairs visible.
• Food remains: dried corn cobs, squash seeds, beans, pinyon nuts.
• Hair, both human and animal, sometimes braided into cord.

Why they matter

Perishables answer questions that pottery and stone alone cannot. They tell us about clothing and how people kept warm. About foodways and what was being eaten at what time of year. About craft transmission — which weaving patterns were taught to which apprentices in which villages. About trade — pinyon nuts and cotton thread can be traced to their geographic origins. About time, because dendrochronology lets us date wooden artifacts to a specific calendar year.

Why they are at risk

Perishable artifacts are exquisitely sensitive to two things: moisture and human handling. The microclimate of a dry alcove has held them in stable condition for centuries. Once disturbed — picked up, moved, rebagged for transport, exposed to bright light or to a humid hand — the deterioration begins immediately and is irreversible.

This is the central reason for the cardinal rule of visitation: do not touch surface artifacts. A sherd of pottery is more durable than a piece of yucca cordage and even the sherd is best left where it lies. The yucca is in another category entirely.

What visitors should know

You will sometimes find yourself standing in front of an alcove with perishable artifacts visible in situ. Cordage on the floor. A scrap of woven plant fiber against the wall. The temptation to look closely is enormous. The right response is to look closely from where you are standing — and not closer. Photograph from a respectful distance. Do not touch.

The dry alcoves of canyon country are one of the world’s best-preserved windows into the daily life of pre-Columbian North America. They survive because the climate has been doing the work. The least we can ask of ourselves is not to undo in a generation what a millennium of dryness has saved.