Loin Cloth

This nearly intact loin cloth, also known as a breech cloth or breech clout, illustrates both the artistry and skill of the indigenous people who lived around Walnut Canyon, as well as the excellent preservation of archeological material. This loin cloth is one out of about a dozen known examples of this unique form of pre-contact weaving from the southwestern United States. It was found in a dry cave site during a 1932 excavation by Museum of Northern Arizona archeologists. The remaining portions of this loin cloth are the front section and a remnant of a sash. The front section is looped upon itself to allow for the sash to pass through, and the weaving then narrows to a thin band that passes through the legs and up to catch the sash at the tail end. What makes this weaving so unique, even though it is plain woven, is that the shaping and joining of the loop at the front was done entirely on the loom. The narrowing of the textile on the loom was accomplished by strategically reducing warps and wrapping them into the selvedge. Design of this textile took forethought and skill to make without utilizing stitches. Also, by not using stitching to join and shape the loin cloth, the final product was much stronger, which likely contributed to its preservation. Light netting, a former conservation treatment, was stitched onto the back of the textile to stabilize fragile cloth fragments while the textile was on exhibit.