Prehistoric Textile Art of Eastern United States: Thirteenth Annual Report of the Beaurau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1891-1892, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1896, Pages 3-46

This 1896 report represents one of the earliest systematic studies of indigenous textile arts in North American archaeology. William Henry Holmes, a pioneering figure in American anthropology, argued forcefully that textile artifacts had been unjustly neglected in archaeological discourse, asserting that textile arts deserved equal standing with pottery and metalwork in determining cultural achievement. The study examines basketry, matting, and fabrics recovered from archaeological sites across the eastern United States, drawing on both excavated materials and historical accounts to reconstruct the techniques and artistic sensibilities of prehistoric peoples. Holmes documents the materials employed, from plant fibers to animal hair, and traces the evolution of textile traditions across different cultural groups. Though written in the formal, Victorian prose characteristic of its era, this document laid groundwork that would shape the field of American material culture studies for generations. It remains essential reading for anyone researching indigenous Southeastern and Eastern Woodlands arts, the history of American archaeology, or the material heritage of pre-contact Native Americans.