Throughout time, weaving, of both basketry and cloth, has had a tremendous impact on Southwestern cultures. Robert Graham, author and Southwest textile expert, has stated, "The most ancient historical and archaeological investigation demonstrate that textile was a highly developed art by the time writing began, and in many cultures before writing began" (Graham 23). Where written records are not available, decorations on structures and pottery show that the production of clothing encompassed a vast part of practically every Southwestern culture. Weaving has played an important role in the economy, the interaction between weavers, and the acknowledgment of community gender roles of Southwestern peoples. Ancient weaving traditions have progressed to ensure their survival, although they may not play the vital role they once did, as can be seen through the examination of ancient textiles.  Textile production was a major part of the economy in the early Southwest because it was a tradable commodity and brought wealth and other goods to the communities.  Through trading, the communities were able to be complete in the resources that they were lacking and they were able to communicate with other communities.  In addition, weaving brought women into the economic sphere and enabled them to have relationships outside the household as traders and in weaving networks.  Women played a vital role in all weaving activities and without their efforts textile production would have been an exhausting activity for the men, who had other responsibilities.  By observing ancient textiles, specifically the area of clothing production, textile based economies, community gender roles, and the interactions between weavers of the Greater Southwest become apparent.
 

This is an example of a loom that was once used to construct clothing and possibly blankets before technology brought forth the sewing machine.

     To better understand societal role of weaving, it is first necessary to have a basic understanding of the topic. "The products include robes, mantles, belts, loin clothes, skirts, shirts, head and foot gear, blankets, mats, hammocks, cradles, baskets for transportation, storage, cooking, and winnowing, fish and game traps and nets, and cords or ropes for many uses" (Graham 1). The materials used to make these products were gathered from animals and vegetables, such as rabbit, dog, bison, human, insect larvae, cotton, flax, hemp, palm, willow, yucca, and grasses. Sandals were the standard footgear. They were made of yucca and apocynum until the Pueblo Period and the advent of cotton. These people were heavily dependent on weaving for almost every aspect of their lives. Without weaving, they could not shelter themselves with clothing during cold seasons or transport necessities such as food and water. Before the expansion of weaving, life was extremely demanding and laborious for Southwestern cultures, as they traveled frequently to any place that offered hope for survival. As people struggled to prosper, some cultures were able to find locations that could support them for lengthy periods of time. "The commencement of weaving is symptomatic of a people’s becoming sedentary" (Means 450). Southwestern cultures were becoming able to create established communities, thereby substantiating trading, networks, and gender roles. Their ability to stay in one place allowed them to spend less time traveling and truly develop themselves as a society.

    Often, analysis of ancient textiles has proven difficult because the articles are possibly thousands of years old because cotton was introduced to the Southwest from Mexico before the beginning of  the 9^th century. Many fragments of clothing have been found throughout the Southwest, some of which are more intact than others. An example of this is the skeleton of a child that was found wearing a V-necked shirt described by Earl H. Morris as "several thicknesses of rather coarsely woven brown wool cloth with a pattern of alternate green and brown stripes." This shirt is very fragmented, consisting of a tassel decorated with copper bells and beads, plus three different types of plain weave cloth that are white, brown, and indigo. The dyes were made from native vegetation or colored minerals. Fortunately, through excavation, enough fragments have been found to make observations of ancient Southwest cultures.

The Venus of Wilendorf has been a symbol of the power and beauty possessed by women for  thousands of years.  Women play a vital role in every society and those of the Greater Southwest are not an exception.

    While observing weaving, a notable issue of gender roles arises. It has been found that most often the roles associated with the production of fabrics were based on gender, age, and marital status, which meant that women were primarily in charge of textile production. "In these societies it is the part of the population that is presumed to be free of full-time duties outside the household that is given the role of domestic cloth production. Processing of fibers, spinning, and weaving may be time-consuming but do not demand attention on a regular schedule and can be fit in around those household activities that demand attention at specific times" (Teague 160). Thus, while women are home caring for the well being of the children, they also took on the responsibility for textile production. At the same time, men were frequently in charge of hunting, protection, and legislative activities. It was probably a natural progression since women were available and capable to do inside activities. This is not to say that women were lacking in responsibilities, because their days were as full as the men’s were. Accounts from the Pima Indians have been found that tell of their cotton-picking techniques. After the cotton was picked, it was stored until winter when there was time for the women to spin it. This illustrates that it truly was the women who handled such activities because it was not done until they found time to do it. It can be drawn from evidence that weaving was considered an inside activity because many cultures like the Zuni always created their works in the house at the permanent place for them. Also, "where backstrap looms parts occur they normally appear in a variety of contexts including ordinary domestic settings…which represents the aspect of cloth production most closely associated with women" (Teague 173). Another example of women being the principle weavers is a female mummy found at Canyon Creek Ruin with a spinning kit. Such evidence "would be expected, given the archaeological prevalence of spindle whorls in domestic areas where women would have carried out their daily tasks" (Teague 170). Archeologists have found so much evidence supporting the idea that women were indeed the leaders when it came to weaving that it is now common knowledge. On the other hand, it is much less common to find evidence of male weavers, although it does exist. For example, among the Hopi it has been established that men produced fabrics that were used for ritual functions. However, "because weaving was not predominantly centered on market exchange, it is unlikely that men held a monopoly on weaving in most parts of the Southwest" (Teague 172). Case after case shows that women were the cardinal weavers for numerous reasons and it seemed to be a system that worked well for the various cultures that inhabited the Southwest.

    In addition to gender roles, it is also significant to discuss the economic context of weaving. As in most societies, trade was a major component of the Southwestern economies. The people would trade their products, such as clothing, with other villages that offered other kinds of material wealth. "When clothing is made at home but textile distribution expands beyond the boundaries of the household for purposes of trade, distribution often is accomplished either by individual contracting for services or by what is referred to as a "putting out" system, in which individuals who work in the home produce fabrics to be passed on to merchants or middlemen for cash or barter" (Teague 160). Here, the primary clothing producers (women) worked in conjunction with those who were sent to do the trading (men) to generate a fully functioning economy that would hard to complete if either side did not to their part. Because trade was most often a considerably major part of the economy, the role of women’s work became very important. In many cultures, the work of women is overlooked and thought of as being replaceable, but in Southwestern cultures, this is not true. The products produced by women brought them out of the household into society, as equals to their male counterparts. Clothing was a profitable trade item because the clothing varied between cultures due to technology, resources, and skill of the weavers. Much like today, clothing performs functional duties such as covering and warmth, but style was of somewhat concern. "Among the loom products we find plaids, nine different pattern weaves, including twills and warp- and weft-float techniques, compound cloth, brocade, and two openwork weaves that produced lace-like fabrics. Tie-dying was practiced, as were embroidery and painted on cloth" (Kent 15). All of this supports the idea that the clothes were made to be stylish and that these people must have enjoyed a prosperous economy because they had the time to create such terrific and complex fashions. In part, the fascination with style was because it reflected wealth as "textiles are a conspicuous display of power- the power to direct large amounts of labor toward clothing production" (Teague 161). Clothing was also used to pay taxes or tribute levies owed to political or religious authorities as long as the economy was strong enough to provide for time and resource-consuming clothing endeavors. The weaving of clothing was "done with meticulous care by laborious hand processes at what may seem to us a tremendous investment of time and energy" (Teague 162). To create articles of clothing that were so extremely arduous, it must have been worthwhile to the people in a financial manner. To complete the trade, there were numerous trade routes throughout the Southwest where clothing was traded over a substantial area. "Hopi trade within and between villages was normally conducted by women in open plazas, but longer-distance trade more often involved men" (Teague 163). In this example, it can be seen that again there were gender distinctions in the area of trading and that it was profitable enough for them to go to great lengths to accomplish the trade with other cultures. The Hopi are known for their extraordinary trading skills because "the Hopi have trading friends with all the people they trade with and a man always trades with his friend whenever he can" (Teague 163). Trade was good for a flourishing economy and it was great for relations between tribes when it was done on a friendly level. Through trade, the tribes were able to build a strong economy and make friends with their neighbors. In making friends with their neighbors, the tribes were furthermore benefiting the economy because they would not have to use as many resources on defense of their habitat, all of which was dependent on the products turned out by women.

    Further, the production of clothing not only sparked interaction between cultures, but also interaction within cultures. "With only twenty-four hours in a day those who are obligated to care for children, obtain and prepare food, and maintain a household will seldom have time available to spin quantities of very fine yarn or create elaborately patterned structures" (Teague 160). Thus, someone in the society must provide where others are lacking. This brings about a system of networking, where the weaving tasks of the women were specialized. For example, community members could specialize in the cultivation of the fibers, spinning the fibers to yarn, or dying the yarn. This system of networking creates a circle where many play a role of the production of clothing somewhere among the various steps between the beginning and the end. Working together to obtain the finished product joined the individuals in a community into more of an extended family, which would have beneficial results. The women of the communities had heightened social interaction, thereby being familiar with each other and ready to provide service in times of crisis. Networking was vital because it allowed more work to get done in smaller amounts of time, which permitted the use of very fine yarns and high element densities to produce the elaborate clothing trade demanded. Weaving networks were significant in the roles played by women because they allocated more participation in the community for women. The women worked together and formed a strong force in the production of clothing. As a large group, they would have more power in how community-clothing production occurred, than they would as individuals.
 

Most cultures of the Southwest were heavily dependent on weaving and were able to adapt to the constant changes of technology and continue traveling through life, while making new weaving traditions.

        Due to the progression of time and increase in technology, the changes in clothing production among Southwestern people are plentiful.  In the case of the Pueblos, they "never used their loom products as an important source of revenue, as do the Navajo, so there has been no economic drive to help preserve the craft" (Kent 16). The Pueblos experienced a breakdown in the art of clothing production because they were subject to European contact and bought commercial cloth at an early date. Today, very little cotton is grown in Pueblo towns. Another instance where change is abundant is with contemporary Hopi textiles, where by comparison with prehistoric ones, "they are coarse in appearance and show a wider range of colors, with shades much brighter than those the ancients were able to produce" (Kent 16). Prehistoric clothing of the Hopi were fairly conservative and they never went as color-crazy as the Navajo did. The new blast of color in clothing is a very considerable change for people who pride themselves on tradition, but they have been able to progress with the changing times in the age of technology. In addition, the Indians obtained the knowledge that wool is easier to spin, weave, and dye than cotton, plus it provides more warmth during the cold months. Another example of the weaving evolution appears in the area of gender roles. "Women continue to participate in textile manufacture, but are concentrated in those aspects of the process that do not require sophisticated equipment and that are not well rewarded, fiber processing and spinning and common examples" (Teague 161). These people show how as they evolved, so did the clothing they produced, whether it be in the form of additional color, change of fabrics, decreased gender roles, or a weighty cease in production all together. On the other hand, not all of the prehistoric weaving techniques have experienced change. For example, "the familiar diamond and herring-bone twills, brocades, plaid, plain weave, and tapestry techniques of today find almost identical counterparts in prehistoric cotton fabrics" (Kent 19). While clothing production has encountered numerous changes, some of the ancient traditions still exist. Technology constantly changes the world, but somethings are better left untouched and those are the undying traditions still found in the modern world.

    All in all, it becomes clear that the production of clothing was a major component of the prehistoric Southwest lifestyle. Analyzing ancient textiles is a complicated task because the articles, found in fragmented form, have barely survived the ravages of time. However, enough fragments have been found to piece them together and formulate ideas about the ancient peoples of the Southwest and our knowledge is constantly expanding. It is known that weaving touched every aspect of life from the side work women did while caring for their children to the economy of the entire society. Through weaving, the communities were able to pull together and prosper as a networking unit instead of individuals. Women were so vital to weaving that a discussion of weaving is not complete without acknowledging them. Women worked with each other to create the elaborate and/or functional clothing that the communities used internally and traded externally to aid in the building of a strong economy. Without the work done by women weavers, the cultures of the Southwest would have had to struggle more to provide enough household goods and clothing to support their communities. Because they held the responsibilities contained by clothing production, women were able to step outside of the traditional stereotype of being subordinate to men and a stay at home mother. They were part of something that would not survive without their efforts because the clothing was not going to make itself and men had their own obligations to fulfill. As time passed, the meaning of weaving to Southwestern societies changed, as did the techniques involved. However, nothing could ever change the fact that women were absolutely essential to weaving because there are multitudinous examples scattered throughout the Greater Southwest.
 
 

Graham, Robert.  The Textile Art of the Prehistoric Southwest.  Tucson: University of Arizona, 1933.

Kent, Kate Peck.  "A Comparison of Prehistoric and Modern Pueblo Weaving."  The Kiva.  New York:
      New York Press, 1986.

Means, Philip.  Ancient Civilizations.  New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1931.

Teague, Lynn S. Textiles in Southwestern Prehistory.  Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press,
      1998.