Granado Cave

Reconstructing a Kiaha (Kiâhâ)

The helping stick supports the kiaha while on the ground and could have served as a walking staff or digging stick.
A reconstructed kiâhâ in use with a forked helping stick.

 Click on thumbnails to view larger images.

 

 

The reconstruction uses the same number of warps and wefts as the original basket.
The smaller of the two baskets found inside Granado Cave was used as a model for the reconstruction.

Kiâhâs are cord-mesh carrying baskets used throughout the Southwest. The name 'kiâhâ' comes from the Pima language. These baskets comprise a cord netting supported by a hoop and four rods. In order to better understand the construction methods used to produce the kiâhâ recovered from Granado Cave, a small carrying basket was reconstructed using the methods originally used to create those excavated from the cave.

The kiâhâ is shown in use with a forked helping stick. The helping stick supports the kiâhâ while on the ground and could have served as a digging stick.

 
The reconstruction was made of cottonwood branches and jute cord.

 

 

 

The netting is made with a distinctive encircling of a weft cord around a warp cord.
 Schematic drawing of the exterior surface of the weaver's knot used to construct the netting.

To make the reconstruction, the ends of cottonwood branches were lashed together to form an oval. Four cottonwood support rods were also used. The two longest rods were lashed to the hope and tied together where they crossed at the base. Nineteen pairs of warps were used, along with 96 weft rows. For the reconstruction, modern three-ply jute cordage was used. The original basket was made from two-ply, Z-twist narrow-leaf yucca cordage, and yucca or agave flower stalk support rods.

The weaving method used to fabricate the mesh cord netting in the Granado Cave kiâhâs appears to be unique to the Rustler Hills, and employs a distinctive encircling of a weft cord around a warp cord. This technique is sometimes described as "old wrapped weaving," where the weft does not twine or interlace through the warp, but simply wraps around it. There are 19 pairs of warps and 96 weft rows, including 5 loose rows at the bottom of the basket. The reconstruction uses the same number of warps and wefts as the original basket.


Interior of the reconstructed basket showing construction.

 

 

 

Please consult the recently published book about Granado Cave for further details on all aspects of the project.

 

 

 

Citation Information
Donny L. Hamilton
2002, Granado Cave: Reconstructing a Kiâhâ, World Wide Web, URL, http://nautarch.tamu.edu/granado/kiaha.htm, Conservation Research Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University.

This page is maintained by the staff of the Conservation Research Lab in the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University (crl@tamu.edu). Last update: February 12, 2002. The contents of this site and the linked pages - text, images, and data - are intended for personal information only. Downloading of information or graphic images contained herein for private use is not discouraged; however, written permission from the Conservation Research Laboratory is required for the publication of any material. For additional details, contact Donny L Hamilton (dlhamilton@tamu.edu).