Textile Impressions in California Archaeology: Analytical Considerations and Research Potential

In the absence of exceptional organic preservation, data on ancient textile industries can be recovered from intentional and accidental negative impressions of woven products left in media that are plastic or pliable initially, but which harden later. However, detailed studies of such textile impressions remain uncommon across the western United States. In California, where surviving plant-based organic artifacts are generally quite rare, impressions in asphaltum (bitumen) provide a means of acquiring data on textile crafts that are increasingly recognized for their potential to contribute to anthropological research questions. Here we review analytical considerations attendant to impressions analysis and explore the underappreciated research potential of textile impressions. Drawing on recent results from the detailed analysis of assemblages of textile impressions in asphaltum from two sites in California, we offer methodological suggestions and review the salient interpretive inferences from these studies that stand to enhance the research potential of similar assemblages.