Being interested in primitive technologies, I wanted to attempt replication of some of the lecheguilla basketry of the Lower Pecos. The first problem came with extracting the fiber from the lecheguilla. Having thoroughly dried some lecheguilla leaves and subsequently soaking them in water for several days, I was able to laboriously prepare a small amount of fiber by individually stripping the fibers of their gelatinous pulp. The method is so time consuming, however, that I doubt this method was used. Then once the fiber was prepared, I could not roll it into cordage as with other fibers (by rolling dampened fibers on my knee). So my question is how to prepare lecheguilla fiber and then cord it (using methods that would have been available to the Lower Pecos people).

I have the publication, "Prehistoric Basketry of the Lower Pecos", by Roberta McGregor (Prehistory Press), and have found it to be an excellent source for the various weaves used in Lower Pecos basketry. The preparation of stock for weaving the basketry, however, is outside the scope of the material.

Any help or sites to reference material Dr. Turpin could give would be most appreciated. - Tom Laramey

Tom,

The production of lecheguilla fiber is still a cottage industry in northern Mexico and the method used there was probably developed in prehistory. When we were working at Boca de Potrerillos northwest of Monterrey, one of our best local contacts was a farmer who used an abandoned pit house, or subterraneo, as a workshop for processing lecheguilla. He gathered the leaves and carried them home in baskets that are identical to some found in dry rock shelter deposits. He made the carrying basket by soaking supple woody branches in water and bending them to make a frame around which he wove ropes or twine made of lecheguilla fiber. One concession to modern technology was his use of nails to fasten the woody components together - in prehistory they were tied in place. His workshop was dug into the earth along a long-dry creek bank and roofed with sotol stalks; the roof was supported by a single pole in the center of the room. He sat or crouched upon the cool earthen floor straddling the center pole into which he had affixed a large knife an inch or so above the ground. This knife swiveled up and down on its point which was stuck in the pole so it could be brought down parallel with the ground for stripping and raised for cleaning. He would grasp a few leaves and pull them beneath the lowered knife, stripping the pulp from one side. He then reversed the leaves and stripped the other side, leaving a clean bundle of fiber which he tossed onto a stack that grew beside him. An economy of movement was achieved by repetitive motions in a cadence of flip-flop, flip-flop, that literally ate away at the stack of raw leaves. The pulp was thrown outside the door where it mounted into a huge mound after a few days. When he had accumulated enough fiber, he spread it in the sun to dry before bundling it for the government buyer or rolling it into twine. He informed us that his mother had taught him how to process the lecheguilla and that in lieu of a knife one could use the rib bone of a large animal. In fact, you would not want too sharp a stripping tool as it might cut into the fiber. His only other tool was a wooden peg or dowel around which he would twist the loosened fibers so he could hold on to them during the second swipe under the knife. I am sure there are other ways of producing fiber from lecheguilla - I have used a flint flake to strip the pulp leaf by leaf - but the Mexican method produced an amazing quantity in a very short period of time with minimal effort and technology. If you want to know more about basketry techniques and production, James Adovasio has written extensively on prehistoric fiber industries including "Basketry Technology: A Guide to Identification and Analysis" from Aldine Press (1977). And don't miss the demonstrations at the October RAF Rendezvous. Rebecca Voght, Patty Pasztor, and Steve Norman all have hands-on experience in replicating prehistoric basketry.