crafts: The Americas 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, finely woven basketry, and even fragments of sandals Given the extreme dryness 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 floor mats crafted out of maguey fibers were found The 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 fish, textiles, and simple undecorated baskets made of plant fibers as well as stone tools for hunting and food processing Some well-preserved archaeological sites have yielded 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 fibers, including yucca and willow wood In eastern North America there is evidence of continuous human occupation since about 10,000 b.c.e The North American Archaic Period roughly coincides with that of Mesoamerica and South America’s Lithic Period, lasting until about 1000 b.c.e The first evidence of metalwork produced in the Americas, in the form of simple copper spear points and bells, comes from Archaic Period archaeological sites With the advent of agriculture in Mesoamerica, the Andes, and throughout the United States, populations became less mobile and settled into communities ranging from small villages to major urban centers As communities settled, craft specialization developed, meaning that a distinct group of craftspeople and artisans emerged In Mesoamerica 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 fibers into thread can be found Baskets appear to have declined in importance as ceramic vessels rapidly became one of the most common features of sedentary 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 precious stone, but evidence suggests that objects of perishable material such as feathers, wood, and cloth were widely produced and disseminated 295 Although in Mesoamerica metallurgy had yet to play a significant role in craft production, artisans in the Andes began to produce large quantities of portable goldwork as a form of tribute for the first major urbanized pilgrimage center, Chavín de Huántar (900–200 b.c.e.) There are examples of repoussé vessels (shaped or ornamented by hammering on the reverse side), masks, and headgear with finely executed geometric designs and symbolic representations of deities The 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 fine 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 significance frequently found in Moche funerary contexts They took on a number of different forms, sometimes left in their natural state and other times fashioned into small sculptures, incorporated into mosaics, or crafted 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 everywhere of this cultural product in the archaeological record Basket making was traditionally performed by women Different 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 The discovery of engraved stone tablets at several Middle Woodland 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 materials, crafts produced throughout the ancient Americas had a diversity of forms, decorations, and functions Climate, geographical location, access to natural materials, and human needs and desires mostly determined this variation The basic large-scale continuities across the Americas are a common preceramic material culture, the development of crafts 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 first millennium until European contact, however, crafts began to diverge widely from their shared cultural foundations and took on ever more varied forms to satisfy the needs of increasingly complex and stratified 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 salt