Page 6 - yukibasketry_kelly1930

422 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. [Vol. 24

INTRODUCTION

The Yuki are a relatively small Californian group comprising an
independent linguistic stock which is wedg·ed in between Hokan
(Pomo), Penutian (Wintun), and A.thapascan-speaking peoples. The
Yuki may be divided as follows : Yuki proper, Coast Yuki, H uchnom,
and W appo. The latter group lies isolated to the south, separated by
some 40 miles of Pomo territory. This is reflected in their culture
which is, according to all accounts, indistinguishable from that of the
Pomo. The Wappo are the only Yuki division making· feather-
decorated baskets-a trait undoubtedly due to Pomo influence. A.s
will be seen later, Pomo proximity is likewise apparent in Huchnom
culture, at least in the realm of basketry.
This paper deals primarily with the basketry of the Yuki proper
and, to a very minor extent, with that of the Huchnom. As Yuki
basketry is scantily represented in museum collections and has been
inadequately described in publications, it seems worth while to record
such data as are ascertainable from the small collection in the
University of California Museum of Anthropology.
This collection consists of 98 baskets, of which 78 are coiled and
20 twined. One of the former and two of the latter are attributed to
the Huchnom. 1 The Yuki material was originally somewhat larger,
but it was nec·essary to eliminate doubtful specimens, such as certain
ones from Round valley provisionally classed as Yuki. Unless other-·
wise stated, the remainder may be regarded as of straight Yuki
provenience.
The proportion of coiled and twined basketry given above
indicates the relative importance of the two techniques. Coiling· was
used for cooking and food baskets, and except for five specimens the
ware was decorated. The twining was in general exceedingly crude,
undecorated, and associated principally with seed beaters, hoppers,
and sifters.

1 An example of Huchnom coiling is illustrated in Mason, 0. T., Aboriginal
American Basketry, USNM-R, 1902:459, 1904.