Traditional Seminole female doll wearing a red, yellow, green, and purple dress. The doll's body is made of palmetto fiber and her facial features are stitched with cotton thread. She wears a string of multi-colored glass beads around her neck and a piece of circular black fabric around her head represents a traditional Seminole hairstyle. The doll is limbless and covered in two layers of dress. The uppermost layer is two sections of fabric sewn together, a smaller red section with a single band of blue rickrack and a larger yellow section with two blue and one brown bands of rickrack. The lower layer is three bands of differently colored fabric sewn together. Uppermost is a red band with gray rickrack, second is a green band with white rickrack, and lowermost is a purple band with pink rickrack.
- Catalog Number:
- 400513 -DSP
- Object/Specimen Description:
- Specimen Count:
- 1
- Culture/Ethnicity:
- Seminole
- Locality:
- US Southeast (NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, TN, KY)
- Min/Max Dates:
- 20th century
- Collecting Locality:
- North America, United States, Florida
- Special Instructions:
- Only available digitally
- Location:
- Collection Wall
Dolls and toys are typically thought to be nothing more than children’s playthings. However, throughout history different cultures have used them in a variety of ways. Dolls and toys come in many shapes and sizes and are made from different materials depending on what is available to the makers in the surrounding environment. They are miniature representations of either people or concepts, and, as such, they can be used as teaching tools and have meaning for adults as well. For example, the Hopi Katsina doll is used to teach children about the Katsina spirit it represents. In many cultures, such as those in Africa, adults use dolls to teach children different rituals or cultural traditions. Dolls can also be used in a commercial setting by serving as the model for dressmakers or sold as commodities by craftsmen. Other dolls, such as those of the Inuit, are used as a means of cultural expression and pride by showing traditional dress, or they are used in depictions of important events in the culture’s history or present life.
Baule woodcarvers at work, Yagolikro village, Ivory Coast
Photograph by Eliot Elisofon, 1972. Image no. EEPA EECL 6900. Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
Humans have always manipulated their environment, whether by acquiring food, making and using tools, or other aspects of daily life. They are constantly interacting with their environment on a daily basis. By using the available materials, humans have created shelter, made tools, created containers and vessels, and produced items of personal and cultural significance. Many of these resources are naturally occurring, such as stones, minerals, animal bones, or organic fibers from plants, while others are made from combining materials. The process of acquiring these materials and the manufacturing process can be traditional practices that are passed down from one generation to another. Because materials are unique to the location of different communities and cultures, by studying the types of materials, as well as animal remains found and the processes used to manipulate them, anthropologists and researchers can learn about the daily activities and lifestyles of the cultures they are studying. In what ways do you interact with your environment on a daily basis?