Dogon Wood Ladder, Mali, Based

The notches are worn deep and smooth. Feet did that, and years.

In Dogon villages, ladders like this gave access to rooftops and granaries, where grain was dried and stored and where families often worked and slept in the hot season. This one, from Mali, was carved in the early 20th century from a single forked trunk. The upper end splits into a broad Y, and a series of notched steps is cut into the front of the trunk.

The wood is heavily weathered, with deep cracks, splits and a dry gray-brown surface, warmer where hands and feet rested. Nearly five feet tall on a black base. It still points up.