Overview
- A new article in the journal postmedieval (2025) by Marcy Norton, John Kuhn, and colleagues argues for the hammock’s Indigenous invention and significance.
- The technology originated in South America and the Caribbean, with hammocks traditionally woven by women skilled in fiber work.
- The oldest preserved example dates to roughly 4,000 years ago, with scholars noting tropical decay likely obscures earlier origins.
- Ethnohistorical sources describe uses beyond sleep, including private space, birth associations via a Kalinago–French term linked to “placenta,” shamanic healing, and burial shrouds.
- Europeans encountered hammocks through Indigenous hospitality, rapidly adopted them for domestic life and military campaigns, with figures like Sir Walter Raleigh promoting their utility in hot, insect-prone settings.