362-124<BR> Las Vegas Paiute winnowing tray; l. 20 cm., w. 19 cm., h. 6 cm.; willow; ca. 1880.<BR> The winnowing tray was used to separate chaff and shells from seeds and nuts that were collected during the harvest season. The loosening of the chaff from seeds and opening of the pine nuts was accomplished by mixing hot charcoal with the seeds and nuts on roasting trays, and rhythmically tossing the contents into the air as long as it took the wind to dispose of the chaff and shells or to open the pine nuts. This required dexterity and attentiveness of women, as the trays should not be burned. With winnowing trays the vegetal foods were thrown up in the air or cascaded on the ground in the wind to separate the inedible parts from the food parts. The slightly trianguloid shape of this fine diagonally twined winnowing tray is characteristically Southern Paiute (Mason 1904:489,493-495; Whiteford 1988:18-19; Fulkerson and Curtis 1995:32-35; Bernstein et.al. 2003:55).<BR> <BR> 362-123, 124, 125 Twined Southern Paiute baskets<BR> The tribes of the semi-arid desert of the Great Basin lived to a substantial degree on a diet of wild plant foods. These were gathered in a seasonal round, determined by the annual harvest times of tubers, bulbs, roots, greens, fruits, seeds, and nuts. A variety of specialized baskets developed over time to gather, transport, store, prepare, and serve these foodstuffs.<BR> Twining is one of the oldest techniques with which plant fibers are woven into a variety of shapes, degrees of rigidity, and products, from flexible mats and bags to sturdy baskets and sandals. In this technique the Southern Paiutes wove winnowing trays, burden baskets, water jugs, cradles, seed beaters, and hats. In addition they produced coiled basketry: parching trays, cooking and eating baskets, and water jugs. Twined baskets were stronger and lighter than coiled burden baskets (Fowler and Dawson 1986:724-726; Whiteford 1988:15-24; Tisdale 2001:86).<BR> <BR> Deze wan is een van de drie gevlochten manden, die Ten Kate bij de Las Vegas Paiutes heeft verzameld. Vlechten is een van de oudste technieken om plantenvezels in allerlei vormen en producten van diverse buigzaamheid te weven, van buigzame matten en tassen tot stevige manden en sandalen. De wan werd gebruikt om kaf te scheiden van zaden en noten, die tijdens het oogstseizoen werden verzameld. Dit deden ze door hete houtskool met de zaden en noten in de wan te mengen en de inhoud ritmisch in de lucht te gooien, net zo lang tot het kaf was verwijderd of de pijnboompitten opengingen. De vrouwen hadden een grote behendigheid en concentratie nodig om te voorkomen dat de wan zou verbranden. Afhankelijk van hun doel, werden ze met of zonder gaatjes in de bodem gevlochten, in het eerste geval werden ze ook als zeef gebruikt.