American Indian Basketry

by Otis Tufton Mason

The origins of basketry are lost in the mists of prehistory, but making baskets is certainly one of the oldest and most nearly universal crafts of mankind. In the Americas, basket artifacts found in caves in Utah have been dated at 7000 B.C., while twined baskets said to be at least 5,000 years old have been uncovered in Peru. In the American Southwest, an entire Indian culture (ca. 100-700 A.D.) is known as "Basket Maker" because of the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486257770
• ISBN13: 9780486257778
• Release Date: February 2012
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 800 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

essential basketry reading

If you are interested in native American basketry, this book will be part of the backbone of your library. Originally published in 1904 as two volumes, when Dover published it, they were bound as one. As a Dover publication, it is, of course, an excellent value--I only wish it were available in hardcover. It has 460 wonderful old photographs and clear line drawings. Mr. Mason was a product of his times and his writing unfortunately reflects an often maddening white male superiority, however his scholarship and clear admiration of the craft, the baskets and their makers mitigates that fault. A must-have book.