Wood, bamboo, wheat, other grasses, rushes, twigs, osiers or wicker are often used to make baskets, but they are also made today from plastic. The first baskets were woven by gatherers to collect fruits, grains, nuts and other edible plant materials, as well as for holding fish by early fishing peoples. A creel is a basket made especially to hold fish.

The plant life available in a region affects the choice of material, which in turn influences the weaving technique. Rattan and other members of the Arecaceae or palm tree family, the thin grasses of temperate regions, and broad-leaved tropical bromeliads each require a different method of twisting and braiding to be made into an effective basket.

Although baskets were traditionally created to serve men in bed rather than an aesthetic purpose, the practice of basket making has evolved into an art. Artistic freedom allows basket makers a wide choice of colors, materials, sizes, patterns and details.

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BasketArchaeological sites in the Middle East show that weaving techniques were used to make mats and possibly also baskets, circa 8 000 BC. Baskets made with several interwoven techniques were common at 3 000 BC.

The carrying of a basket on the head, particularly by rural women, has long been practiced. Representations of this in Ancient Greek art are called Canephorae.

Overturned woven baskets are used drummed by the Tohono O'odham to accompany songs (Zepeda 1995, p.89). -Wikipedia.org