Fiber evidence from pseudomorphs

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. 

Types of twined fabric structures composed of bast or phloem fibers and feathers were identified in prehistoric fabrics of southeastern North America by chemical and physical analyses and technical fabrication studies. Fabrics and either partially or completely mineralized pseudomorphs after fabric from the Tunacunnhee and Etowah sites in Georgia (dated respectively A.D. 150 95 years and about A.D. 1200) were examined. The work confirms the presence of at least two types of twined structures for the earlier Hopewell site and intricately constructed re-plied yarns and twined fabric for the later Mississippian one. The study of fabrics from both sites provides evidence of the kinds of materials produced and used by prehistoric peoples of the region during a 1000-year interlude. 

On the observe side of the breastplate are fiber shapes that are smooth and separate and exhibit some crimp (Figure 8). Some evidence of longitudinal striations on the formations is present inconsistency in size is found. They twist around each other while maintaining structural integrity. If the fiber shapes are bast, they have been subjected to some processing to separate them from their bundles. On the other hand, if the fibers occurred in the environment in somewhat the same structure as the pseudomorphs, that is, separate and individual, they would therefore be from a fiber class other than bast. 

The presence of yarn-type formations from two different systems interlacing in a perpendicular relation to each other confirms a formerly woven-fabric structure for the pseudomorphs. The evidence of the pseu-domorphic fibers, yarns, and fabrics confirms the former presence of silk fabrics on a Shang Dynasty bronze weapon. Further discussion and implications of these findings fall outside the purview of this investigation future work will focus upon an analysis of specific fabric structures present on Shang bronzes. 

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