Direct fabric evidence

Fabrics used by the ABORIGINAL PEOPLE of southeastern North America have not been studied extensively. Small fragments of cordage, fabrics, and matting have been recorded from various prehistoric sites in the region (1-4), but analytical and synthesizing efforts have focused on matters other than the study of these pieces or the study of their cultural implications. Because fabrics are manufactured and used by people, their examination can reveal information about those who produced them. A first step, however, is the analysis of fabric as fabric. The purpose of this project is this first step to characterize selected examples of direct fabric evidence from the Tunacunnhee and Etowah sites in Georgia. 

Direct fabric evidence means those forms of fabrics that are still organic and have retained their original fiber composition, and those that are partially or completely replaced by mineral compounds. Those replaced by mineral compounds, termed fabric pseudomorphs, result when fabrics in contact with metal are buried in a moist, soil environ-... 

Although both sites are in the same geographic area (Figure 1), they differ greatly in age and cultural expression. The Tunacunnhee site, dated A.D. 150 95 years, represents the Hopewell tradition (I), whereas Etowah, in use between A.D. 900 and A.D. 1400, is considered to be of the Middle Mississippian period (7). Taken together, the two sites and their fabrics provide evidence of the kinds of materials produced and used by certain prehistoric people of the region. Both sites are expressions of major cultural traditions in southeastern North America, and both contain direct fabric evidence. These facts underscore the importance of... 

Fabric Structural Evidence. For the most part the direct fabric evidence examined from the two sites consists of fibers and yams within fabric structures rather than in matting or cordage. Two exceptions are the re-plied yam occurring on the Etowah copper plate and the cords wrapped around the earspool shafts from F-30. Although the re-plied... 

Chemical and physical analyses of the six examples of direct fabric evidence raise more questions than are answered. Further work is required in determining the identity of the fibers, a task made more difficult by their degraded condition. Also, the presence of any dye and/or mordant in the fibers should be established. How pseudomorphs after fibers form must be defined to establish the extent of shape maintenance in replacement, the influence of chemical differences in fiber or in soil on the replacement minerals, the relationship between... 

It is evident from the work completed, however, that direct fabric evidence, whether fabric or pseudomorph after fabric, contains much data about prehistoric fabrics of southeastern North America. The information gleaned from their study can be used to reconstruct the cultural implications of fabric manufacture and use among the prehistoric peoples of the region. 

As a form of direct fabric evidence, the physical shapes of textile fabric pseudomorphs have been studied to identify fiber type and yam and fabric construction. Pseudomorphs of paired filaments in mineralized fabric formations found on Shang-period bronze weapons were determined to be replaced silk (I, 2) S-and Z-twisted silk staple yarn pseudomorphs were identified as well as fabric constructions, including float yams and a ribbed weave. 

The third fabric evidence from Etowah is attached to a copper plate, presumed to be an eagle dancer plate (No. 1156, Burial 110). Parts of it are pseudomorphic. In an area of the plate, one can observe dark fibers manipulated into yams. The yams are from only one system, and no obvious evidence of fabric structure is discernible. Nonetheless, the fibers are part of a re-plied or complex yam type. Two singles are plied in a Z-direction to form a two-ply yam. Then the yam is twisted with another two-ply yam in an S-direction the result is a re-plied yarn (Figure 13). For the most part the yarns contain single smooth fibers. In certain areas the yam has frayed and lost its re-plied configuration. Initial examination by scanning electron microscopy revealed downy barbules indicative of feathers on adjacent fibrous material. 

Ishizumi and Kanemitsu (2005) have studied PL properties of Eu3+ doped ZnO nanorods fabricated by a microemulsion method. The PL of bound exciton recombination and ZnO defects was observed near 370 and 650 nm under 325-nm light excitation, but no emission of Eu3+ occurred. On the other hand, the sharp PL peaks due to the intra-4f transitions of Eu3+ ions appeared under nonresonant excitation below the band-gap energy of ZnO (454 and 457.9 nm) in addition to direct excitation to 5D2 (465.8 nm). Therefore the authors concluded that the energy transfer occurs from the ZnO nanorods to Eu3+ ions through ZnO-defect states. This energy transfer mechanism seems very different from the previous one and more spectroscopic evidence is required to confirm it. 

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Lifetime depth profiles will be useful for the detection of inhomogeneous pore size distributions and in tracking impurities. For microelectronic device fabrication it is crucial that subsequent processing steps do not alter the deposited porous layers. The case presented above of oxygen plasma treatment is just one example. A lifetime depth profile could provide direct evidence for the changes in pore sizes discussed in the work on HSSQ samples and oxygen plasma treatment [22]. Gidley et al have carried out similar depth profiles [74]. 

Stable Isotope Method. At this point, the evidence for placing the Shroud s origin is suggestive, but more work is clearly necessary if we hope to reconstruct a convincing historical scenario. So far, the evidence has been somewhat indirect that is, it involves incidental materials associated with the fabric. The stable isotope experiment is qualitatively different from the earlier ones because, like radiocarbon, it involves direct measurements on the fabric itself. 

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