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Chapter 5 Basketry in Timor-Leste

Open your eyes to another world of containers.

If anthropologists were to count the top 10 critical developments of early technology, basketry would certainly make the list. Imagine living in a world without plastic or metal and having to carry a bunch of stuff, especially stuff that comes in small pieces like seeds, nuts, or little fish. You could carve out a wooden bucket or use a piece of gourd, or sew shut an animal skin, but the best way to make a large, light vessel would be to weave it from natural fibers.

Making a vessel from the leaves of a tree or a handful of grass is an extraordinary accomplishment, ...