duction in the Archaic Period (7000–1800 b.c.e.). At Guila
Naquitz archaeologists found bone awls and needles, copper
bells, wooden digging sticks and weapons, fi nely woven bas-
ketry, and even fragments of sandals. Given the extreme dry-
ness of these particular caves, they provide ideal conditions
for the preservation of very fragile and perishable artifacts.
At the Tamaulipas caves, ground stone tools for processing
food, chipped stone tools and weaponry, along with coiled
baskets, nets, and woven fl oor mats craft ed out of maguey fi -
bers were found.
Th e Andes, encompassing modern-day Peru and Bolivia
as well as parts of Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia,
witnessed a rich and complex history of craft production,
extending from the Lithic Period (10,000–3000 b.c.e.) up to
the present day. During the Lithic Period the inhabitants of
the Andes developed diverse utilitarian craft , such as nets for
catching fi sh, textiles, and simple undecorated baskets made
of plant fi bers as well as stone tools for hunting and food pro-
cessing. Some well-preserved archaeological sites have yield-
ed wooden earplugs, gourds with simple carved designs, and
wooden bowls.
North America’s indigenous inhabitants began to create
beautifully executed basketry as early as 4500 b.c.e. In the
region now known as the southwestern United States and
northern Mexico, baskets were made from a variety of plant
fi bers, including yucca and willow wood. In eastern North
America there is evidence of continuous human occupation
since about 10,000 b.c.e. Th e North American Archaic Pe-
riod roughly coincides with that of Mesoamerica and South
America’s Lithic Period, lasting until about 1000 b.c.e. Th e
fi rst evidence of metalwork produced in the Americas, in the
form of simple copper spear points and bells, comes from Ar-
chaic Period archaeological sites.
With the advent of agriculture in Mesoamerica, the
Andes, and throughout the United States, populations be-
came less mobile and settled into communities ranging
from small villages to major urban centers. As communities
settled, craft specialization developed, meaning that a dis-
tinct group of craft speople and artisans emerged. In Meso-
america throughout the Formative (1800 b.c.e.–150 c.e.) and
the Classic (150–650 c.e.) periods, craft objects appear in
increasing abundance, many associated with sedentary life.
Wooden digging sticks for planting and wooden spindles
used in conjunction with ceramic spindle whorls (circular
parts of spindles, used to rotate the spinner) for spinning
cotton and maguey fi bers into thread can be found. Baskets
appear to have declined in importance as ceramic vessels
rapidly became one of the most common features of seden-
tary life. Functional items used in food preparation, such
as certain specialized tools used to grind corn, occupied a
central place in domestic life. Surviving luxury goods tend
to consist of ceramics and objects made of obsidian and pre-
cious stone, but evidence suggests that objects of perishable
material such as feathers, wood, and cloth were widely pro-
duced and disseminated.
Although in Mesoamerica metallurgy had yet to play
a signifi cant role in craft production, artisans in the Andes
began to produce large quantities of portable goldwork as a
form of tribute for the fi rst major urbanized pilgrimage cen-
ter, Chavín de Huántar (900–200 b.c.e.). Th ere are examples
of repoussé vessels (shaped or ornamented by hammering on
the reverse side), masks, and headgear with fi nely executed
geometric designs and symbolic representations of deities.
Th e Moche culture, which dominated the north coast of Peru
from about 100 to 600 c.e., developed specialized systems of
craft production, with workshops producing fi ne copper and
gold decorative objects such as ornate earspools, necklaces,
bracelets, and hammered shields. Spondylus shells, imported
from Ecuador, were worked into objects of ritual signifi cance
frequently found in Moche funerary contexts. Th ey took on
a number of diff erent forms, sometimes left in their natural
state and other times fashioned into small sculptures, incor-
porated into mosaics, or craft ed into beads.
Archaeological evidence of basketry abounds in North
America as the region emerged from the Archaic Period; in
fact, the period from 100 b.c.e. to 700 c.e. in the American
Southwest is known as the Basketmaker for the presence ev-
e r y w h e r e of t h i s c u l t u r a l pr o du c t i n t h e a rc h a e o l o g i c a l r e c ord.
Basket making was traditionally performed by women. Dif-
ferent basket designs and decorative motifs might distinguish
the hand of the maker or signify the particular family, region,
or cultural group within which the basket was produced. Th e
discovery of engraved stone tablets at several Middle Wood-
land Period (300 b.c.e.–1000 c.e.) archaeological sites in the
eastern United States provides further insights into ancient
North American craft production. Archaeologists believe the
tablets were probably used for printing decorations on cloth
or other perishable materials.
Although they were made from the same basic materi-
als, craft s produced throughout the ancient Americas had
a diversity of forms, decorations, and functions. Climate,
geographical location, access to natural materials, and hu-
man needs and desires mostly determined this variation. Th e
basic large-scale continuities across the Americas are a com-
mon preceramic material culture, the development of craft s
associated with sedentary life, and the rise of domestic and
institutionalized craft specialization. With the development
of cities, chiefdoms, and empires from the middle of the fi rst
millennium until European contact, however, craft s began
to diverge widely from their shared cultural foundations and
took on ever more va r ied for ms to sat isf y t he needs of i ncreas-
ingly complex and stratifi ed societies.See also adornment; agriculture; architecture; art;
building techniques and materials; ceramics and
pottery; cities; climate and geography; clothing and
footwear; death and burial practices; economy; food
and diet; gender structures and roles; household
goods; hunting, fishing, and gathering; illumination;
inventions; metallurgy; mining, quarrying, and saltcrafts: The Americas 295