- Tracy Martens, Royal Saskatchewan Museum
- Bailey Monsebroten, Royal Saskatchewan Museum
Today, most people live in uninterrupted contact with fibre and perishable items, from status symbols like designer clothing and handbags to utilitarian objects like automobile seatbelts, paper, and household linen. Archaeological evidence indicates that the tight-knit relationship between people and fibre and perishable items is genuinely ancient, with indirect evidence of fibre processing dated over 100,000 years BP at Cueva Anton, Spain and convincing evidence that Neanderthals possessed yarn production technology. This revelation has been interpreted as evidence of increased cognitive capacity (Hardy et al., 2020). Yet, aside from enthusiastic hobbyists and textile specialists, few people, including but not limited to archaeologists, have a working understanding of fibre types and processing, yarn production, and textile structure. Likewise, even fewer people appreciate the complexity and prolonged engagement demanded by these techniques, particularly before and during mechanization when processes were performed entirely or partially by hand. As a result of this unfamiliarity, researchers often ignore fibre and perishable items and associated technologies or superficially address them, leading to misleading categorization including but not limited to miscellaneous items alongside rosary beads, marbles and clocks (Mackay et al. 2006). This session invites papers and project descriptions focused on detailed recordings and analysis of fibre and perishable items from archaeological, historical or museum contexts that demonstrate the research value and potential of fibre and perishable items and associated materials. Contributions might also include best practices for handling, recording and storing fibre and perishable items and recognizing tools and indirect evidence for fibre processing.