New Book is the Authority on Southwestern Weaving

November 2003

Recently published by the University of Arizona Press, Blanket Weaving in the Southwest, by Joe Ben Wheat and edited by Arizona State Museum’s Ann Lane Hedlund, is the new authority on southwestern weaving. This fall, artists, collectors, curators, and anthropologists will finally see a major gap in textile history filled.

Joe Ben Wheat (1916-1997), an authority on southwestern prehistory and ethnohistory, devoted decades to creating a textile identification key based on the traits that distinguish the Pueblo, Navajo, and Spanish-American blanket weaving traditions over time.

Wheat's research resulted in a masterful classification scheme for southwestern textiles—and a book that establishes an essential baseline for understanding craft production. Nearly finished before Wheat's death, Blanket Weaving in the Southwest describes the evolution of southwestern textiles from the early historic period to the late nineteenth century, establishes a revised chronology, and traces significant changes in materials, techniques, and designs.

The book relates what Spanish observers learned about the state of native weaving in the region—a historical review that reveals the impact of new technologies and economies on a traditional craft. Subsequent chapters deal with fibers, yarns, dyes, and fabric structures—including an unprecedented examination of the nature, variety, and origins of bayeta yarns—and with tools, weaves, and finishing techniques.

A final chapter constructed by editor Ann Lane Hedlund provides clues to Wheat’s evolving ideas about the development of textile design. Hedlund—herself an internationally respected textile scholar and a protégée of Wheat's—has ensured that the book comprehensively meets the needs of scholars, collectors, and interested readers.

200 photos, including 191 color plates, depict a vast array of chief blankets, shoulder blankets, ponchos, sarapes, diyugi, mantas, and dresses from museum collections nationwide. Dozens of line drawings demonstrate technique concerning weaves, edge finishes, and corner tassels.

Through his groundbreaking and painstaking research, Joe Ben Wheat created a new view of southwestern textile history that goes beyond any other book on the subject. Blanket Weaving in the Southwest addresses a host of unresolved issues in textile research and provides critical tools for resolving them. It will remain an essential resource for all who appreciate the intricacy of these outstanding works of art.

Joe Ben Wheat was one of the first two students to receive a PhD in anthropology at the University of Arizona, where he studied and taught from 1947-53, before becoming the first curator of anthropology at the University of Colorado Museum in Boulder.

Ann Lane Hedlund is director of the Gloria F. Ross Center for Tapestry Studies and a curator of ethnology at Arizona State Museum.