<P> Railroad service reached Navajo lands in the early 1880s and resulted in considerable expansion of the market for Navajo woven goods . According to Kathy M'Closkey of the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada, "wool production more than doubled between 1890 and 1910, yet textile production escalated more than 800%". Purchases of manufactured yarn compensated for the deficit in wool production . Federal government reports affirmed that this weaving, which was performed almost exclusively by women, was the most profitable Navajo industry during that era . Quality declined in some regards as the weavers attempted to keep up with demand . However, in today society an average price of a rug goes for about $800.00 . </P> <P> Several European - American merchants influenced Navajo weaving during the next decades . The first to advertise Navajo textiles in a catalog was C.N. Cotton in 1894 . Cotton encouraged professional production and marketing among his peers and the weavers whose work they handled . Another trader named John . B. Moore, who settled in the Chuska Mountains in 1897 attempted to improve the quality of textiles he traded . He attempted to regulate the cleaning and dyeing process of artisans who did business with him, and shipped wool intended for higher grade weaving outside the region for factory cleaning . He limited the range of dyes in textiles he traded and refused to deal fabric that had included certain commercially produced yarns . Moore's catalogs identified individual textile pieces rather than illustrating representative styles . He appears to have been instrumental in introducing new motifs to Navajo weaving . Carpets from the Caucasus region were popular among Anglo - Americans at that time . Both the Navajo and the Caucasus weavers worked under similar conditions and in similar styles, so it was relatively simple for them to incorporate Caucasus patterns such as an octagonal motif known as a gul . </P> <P> Traders encouraged the locals to weave blankets and rugs into distinct styles . They included "Two Gray Hills" (predominantly black and white, with traditional patterns), "Teec Nos Pos" (colorful, with very extensive patterns), "Ganado" (founded by Don Lorenzo Hubbell), red dominated patterns with black and white, "Crystal" (founded by J.B. Moore), Oriental and Persian styles (almost always with natural dyes), "Wide Ruins," "Chinle," banded geometric patterns, "Klagetoh", diamond type patterns, "Red Mesa" and bold diamond patterns . Many of these patterns exhibit a fourfold symmetry, which is thought by Professor Gary Witherspoon to embody traditional ideas about harmony or Hozh . </P> <P> Large numbers of Navajo continue to weave commercially . Contemporary weavers are more likely to learn the craft from a community college course, as opposed to family . A Navajo woman struggles and sacrifices, but for some this is their only source of income . Contemporary Navajo textiles have suffered commercially from two sets of pressures: extensive investment in pre-1950 examples and price competition from foreign imitations . Modern Navajo rugs are indeed notable for their high prices . </P>

What kind of tools did the navajo tribe use