Perishable: Feather Ornament AMNH 29.0/9712

Feather Ornament, Accession AMNH29.0, Catalog #9712. Morris FS 3197. Analyzed by Laurie Webster, 2006. Bundle of wrapped and plied cordage and feather quills, 2Z-S, 2(2Z-S)Z. Image: AMNH 29.0/9712A: bundle of cords for feather attachment. Recovered from Earl Morris' excavation of Room 138, Aztec West Ruin. Earl Morris’ description of Room 138 at the time of excavation is as follows: “On the floor of Room 138 was a film of refuse containing Chaco potsherds…Thence upward, mixed with dust, wall wreckage, and rubbish from a deposit which had been in the second story, there was an almost inextricable tangle of pine timbers, splints, and cedar bark. There had been no fire above this area and all three ceilings had fallen into the first story room. Having been deeply buried, the wood was perfectly preserved. All of the ceilings had been of the same pattern: two pine log supports with pine poles resting upon them. As has been the case wherever observations have been possible, the supports of the successive ceilings were smaller than those of the ones beneath.” (Morris 1928:389). 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.