Identification of Feathers in Textiles from the Craig Mound at Spiro, Oklahoma

Abstract

We microscopically analyzed 101 textile samples representing 89 cataloged artifacts from the Craig Mound, Spiro, Oklahoma, in order to identify feathers used in their manufacture. Downy feather barbs from three species of birds were identified in textile samples: wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo; n = 66 samples), Canada goose (Branta canadensis; n = 15), and swan (Cygnus, cf. buccinator; n = 4). These are the first swan remains reported from the Spiro site. Feathers from 84 samples were dyed red or black. Although Spiro iconography depicts falcons, eagles, and woodpeckers, none of the textiles examined in this study contain feathers belonging to species from the avian orders Falconi) vrmes and Piciformes.

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