It is often thought that because basketry is one of the earliest of human craft skills, it is also one of the most rudimentary. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Basket-making is a complex weaving skill that takes technical and creative expertise. A fundamental and intrinsic understanding of form, practical purpose and the application of relevant raw materials was an absolute necessity for any basket weaver. What basket weavers the world over took for granted for countless generations as a practical and guiding principle of their craft skill, that form follows function, was paraded by European architects and designers of the twentieth century as a revelation of modern times.