Perishable: Rush Mat AZRU8-2780

Rush Mat Fragment, Accession AZRU-00008, Catalog #2780. Morris FS 3667. Analyzed by Laurie Webster, 2006. Fragment of a knotted rush mat. Layers of rush elements are joined by a pair of 2Z-S and 2(2S-Z)S yucca cords tied in overhand knots. Measurements: L 10.0, W 8.5 CM. Images: AZRU8-2780 A: fragment of knotted rush mat, elements joined with overhand knots. AZRU8-2780 B: detail of empty knotted loop. Recovered from Earl Morris' excavation of Room 136-2, Aztec West Ruin. Earl Morris’ description of Room 136-2 at the time of excavation is as follows: “A great quantity of Mesa Verde refuse had been cast into Room 136-2 and evenly distributed, its upper limit being nearly level at a height of 3½ feet from the floor. There was a predominant proportion of organic matter, mostly vegetable, and owing to the air space afforded by the open room beneath (Room 147) and to the 5 to 10 feet of debris above, preservation of perishable, objects was practically perfect, except in the upper 3 to 6 inches which had been moistened by rain water before the ceilings above gave way…At the center of the room, beginning 1½ feet from the floor, was about one-half cubic yard of corn tassels (Fig. 24). The tips of the plants had been broken off and tied into bouquet-shaped bundles, as flowers might be…” (Morris 1928:380).
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.