1602 The artful hairstyles of Western Africa dominate a Dutch sailor's travelogue. Pieter de Marees reports that men cut and braid their hair "each in his own fashion and competing in style," while women "use... beads... which they hang and plait in their hair." Beyond the sailor's sight, Central African women make hair gels of ochre and animal fats, rolling their hair into long coils. In Benin, women use porcupine quills to undo their fine cornrows. The trade in slaves introduces African hairstyles to the New World, and braiding helps keep African traditions alive on early American plantations.