Perishable: Plaited Mat AZRU8-2912

Plaited Mat, Accession AZRU-00008, Catalog #2912. Morris FS 4023. Analyzed by Laurie Webster, 2006. Large folded fragment of a plaited rush mat with an intricate selvage and rounded corner. About six smaller fragments are enclosed in the fold. Wider elements alternate with narrow ones in both directions. Measurements: L 30.0, W 25.0 CM (largest). Images: AZRU8-2912 A: Plaited Mat Fragment. AZRU8-2912 B: Detail. AZRU8-2912 C: Detail. AZRU8-2912 D: Detail. AZRU8-2912 E: Detail. Recovered from Earl Morris' excavation of Room 153-2, Aztec West Ruin. Concerning Room 153-2 Morris reports that “The refuse deposit in Room 153 was in reality a continuation of that in Room 136, just as the latter was an extension of the rubbish present in the upper level of Room 180. The only specimens from this layer are two large bowls broken and thrown away while still new and unstained by use. As mentioned in connection with Burial No. 55, Room 153 was used as a turkey coop at the same time that it was being used as a dumping place” (Morris 1928:382).
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.