How were Northwest Coast cedar boxes shaped with kerfing and steam?

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Hohokam pottery — Native American art Pottery created by the Hohokam people, made of buff clay and painted with red designs.

To create wooden boxes, indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast utilized boards made from giant arborvitae, also known as red cedar. The process involved a technique called kerfing, where the wood was cut nearly through transversely at specific points. These points were then steamed until the wood became flexible enough to be bent and shaped into the form of a box.1