Book excerpt: The individual chapters include both regional overviews and case histories of surviving evidence for these types of objects in the Northeast, with analyses of their importance in the social economy of the region. They employ both primary evidence (actual objects or fragments of them) and secondary evidence (such as impressions of fabrics in pottery, metal pseudomorphs, or images of objects). A large number of the chapters provide information on cordage and fabrics; many include bark, wood, and leather objects as well.