Perishable: Cornhusk Basket AMNH 29.0-7383

Cornhusk Basket, Accession AMNH29.0, Catalog #7383. Morris FS 975. Analyzed by Laurie Webster, 2006. Cornhusk basket framework of wrapped, bent wood and yucca . Image: AMNH 29.0-7383A: base of cornhusk basket. Recovered from Earl Morris' excavation of Room 54, Aztec West Ruin. Morris (1928:309) indicates that “The first 1 ½ feet of fill in Room 54 consisted of fallen masonry and the uncharred wood of a ceiling which had been supported by two transverse pairs of cedar logs. The interstices between the stones were not filled with earth, indicating little action of wind and rain before the subsequent filling took place. Above this basal depodit was 9X to 10 feet of dry refuse with a large vegetable component. It had been well sheltered from moisture; hence, perishable objects were excellently preserved. That the waste material accumulated dur;ng the Chaco period is shown by the fact that a human effigy vessel' (29.0-7321) was scattered from one end of the room to the other. Such vessels do not occur among Mesa Verde pottery. Other specimens from this room are: a grooved hammer, a chipped knife blade, a selenite pendant, a piece of selenite, five arrow points…[long list of artifacts]…The charred timbers of a ceiling were above the refuse, separated from it by 8 inches to 1 foot of drift sand.”
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.

玉米皮篮（Cornhusk Basket），入藏号AMNH29.0，目录号7383，档案号Morris FS 975，2006年由劳里·韦伯斯特（Laurie Webster）完成分析。该玉米皮篮的框架由经包裹处理的弯曲木材与丝兰（yucca）制成。影像资料：AMNH 29.0-7383A，展示该玉米皮篮的底部。该文物出土自厄尔·莫里斯（Earl Morris）对阿兹特克西遗址（Aztec West Ruin）54号房间的发掘工作。

莫里斯（1928：309）在报告中记载："54号房间前1.5英尺的填土由坠落的砖石结构，以及原本支撑两道横向雪松原木天花板的未炭化木材构成。石块间的缝隙未被泥土填充，表明在后续填土形成前，该区域受风雨影响极小。该基底沉积层上方为9至10英尺厚的干燥废弃物堆积，其中植物类遗存占比颇高。此处堆积因得到良好的潮气防护，易腐文物因此得到了极佳的保存。查科文化时期的废弃物堆积可由以下事实佐证：一件人形纹陶器（human effigy vessel，编号29.0-7321）散落在房间的整个范围内。这类陶器从未在梅萨维德（Mesa Verde）遗址出土的陶片中出现过。该房间出土的其他标本包括：一件带槽石锤、一件打制石刃、一件透石膏（selenite）吊坠、一块透石膏、五件箭镞……[大量出土器物清单略]……废弃物堆积上方为炭化的天花板木构，二者之间隔有8英寸至1英尺厚的风积砂层。"

参考文献：厄尔·莫里斯（Earl Morris），1928年，《阿兹特克遗址发掘笔记》，第XXVI卷，第五部分，《美国自然历史博物馆人类学论文集》，纽约。