Andean textiles

Lithic Period The earliest known surviving textiles are samples of fiberwork found in Guitarrero Cave, Peru dating back to 8000 BCE. The scaly fibers produced by these animals were both flexible and dye-permeable, allowing them to be woven with cotton to produce sturdy threads and textiles. Chavín culture began to emerge around the late Initial Period (c. 900-500 BC). Surviving textiles found from looted burials feature brown dye painted on large, seamed panels of cloth. Textiles from the burials of Karwa are featured as ritual cult center objects, and depict explicitly feminine deities. Paracas officials adopted the practice of wearing multiple garments in sets, including headbands, turbans, mantles, ponchos, tunics, skirts, and loincloths. Remarkably, the finest Inca cloth had a thread count of more than 600 threads per inch, higher than that found in contemporaneous European textiles and not excelled anywhere in the world until the industrial revolution in the 19th century. Tawantinsuyu nationals' costume The style of Inca clothing was subject to geography. Heavier, warmer materials were common in the colder Andean highlands (such as llama, alpaca and vicuna wool, the latter being worn almost exclusively by royalty), while lighter cloth was used in the warmer coastal lowlands (usually cotton). However, the basic design of Inca costume differed little throughout the Inca realm, with the quality of the materials and the value of decorative items making most of the differentiation of the social ranks. Clothing Worn by Women The main item of Inca clothing worn by women was a long dress known as an anaku (regional difference in style existed, with the aksu, a longer version of the male unku, being common). The anaku reached to the wearer's ankles and was held around the waist by a broad belt or sash called a chumpi. A type of shawl or mantle, known as a lliclla, was worn over the shoulders. The mantle was fastened with tupu pins made of copper, bronze, silver, or gold. Men and women often carried a woven bag known as a chuspa. The bag hung down by the wearer's side from a strap about the neck. The bag held such items as coca leaves, personal possessions, slingstones, among other things. Male belts were much more narrow than the waistbands worn by women, and unlike women, it was not mandatory for men to wear them, nevertheless in some provinces belts seem to have been quite popular, however it appears that they did not enjoy much popularity among the ethnic-Inca nobility of Cusco, judging by the representations of themselves. A hybrid of a belt and a bag (chuspa) was very popular and commonly worn among the ethnic groups of the Altiplano in the south of the Empire. Headdresses were very diverse in shape and form, many kinds of hats, turbans and headbands, even including things like deer antlers, slings, or cords wrapped around the head were worn. The various headdresses and head adornments indicated the place of origin of the diverse inhabitants of the Tawantinsuyu. Thus, for instance the Wanka wore a wide black headband on their heads, the Chachapoya wore wollen turbans (probably of white color), the Yungas or coastal peoples wore turbans "like those of the gypsies", while the Kana wore bonnets larger than those of the Qolla, those of Cajamarca wore slings on top of their hair. Inca footwear It was not uncommon, for many members of society, particularly among the lower classes but without excluding the nobility, to spend most of their time bare-footed. Several types of sandals, shoes similar in design to Native American moccasins prior to European influence, and high boots worn in the coldest areas, were the types of footwear worn by both men and women. The soles of Inca sandals could be made from leather or woven plant fibers, among other materials. The upper part of the sandal consisted of brightly colored braided woolen cord. == Record-keeping ==

by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, ca. 1600. Traditional Inca weaving, as depicted in Spanish text. Manufacturing technique Many textiles, such as baskets and fishing nets, did not require the use of a loom. The Andeans used the back strap loom to create woven textiles, as chronicled in El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno. Several techniques were used to produce fabric, including plain weave, tapestry weave, and scroll weave. Smaller woven pieces produced on the same loom were often stitched together to create a larger fabric. Borders of embroidered tunics and mantles are often decorated with yarn tassels or fringe. Prehistoric Andean weavers pioneered new weaving techniques, such as the triple weave and quadruple weave. The use of fine yarn and consistency in stitch size is remarkable, with analyses counting an average of 250 wefts per inch on average, and some samples exceeding 500 wefts per inch. This is attributed to the regularity in diameter and consistency of thread, as well as maintenance of tension on the loom throughout the entire weaving process. Complex combinations of coloration and patterning were used to repeat geometric patterns while maintaining visual consistency; Paracas textiles are especially well known for their regular gridlike arrangement of iconographic images. The consistency of scale and shape of these patterns point to the use of counting systems used by textile artisans to record the number of stitches and distance between each geometric pattern.File:Tupu pin.jpg|thumb|245x245px|Tupu pin, 1400-1533 AD, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.|left Social significance Intricately woven mantles were created to be worn by nobles and elites, both in life and death. Mantles were often extensive and large, averaging 275 centimeters in length and 130 centimeters in width, and were draped around the neck and over the shoulders. Gifts were also given to conquered territories in ceremonial shows of dominance over the peoples of the region. A region's ability to produce textiles was intricately connected to its success of camelid herding, indicating the value of state-controlled wealth in a territory. Burial bundles Woven garments worn during life indicated an individual's social rank, and were often interred with the individual in death. Gift textiles created expressly for funerary purposes were also interred, without being worn in life. Ritual gift objects wrapped in "mummy bundles" include obsidian knives, combs, and balls of thread. Paracas culture practiced mummification by wrapping the deceased in several layers of woven textiles. Over 429 funeral bundles containing gift textiles, reams of plain cloth, and various ritual paraphernalia have been excavated from a necropolis at Cerro Colorado. These artifacts offer the largest source of pre-Columbian Andean textile arts known to date. ==Military use==

While Andean civilizations had knowledge of and were capable of working metal, quilted armor was preferred for its light weight and flexibility. Soldiers depicted by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala wear cloth tunics and wind strips of fabric around themselves to create a sturdy armor that allowed for movement while providing defense. The use of cloth rather than metallic armor was also motivated by cultural reasons. The properties of cloth were believed to transfer spiritual reinforcement and power to its wearer, supplying strength and force. For similar reasons, woven slings made of plant fibers were the preferred weapons of Moche civilization, rather than stiff wooden or metallic implements. Cloth blankets and tent-making equipment were readily transportable, allowing caches of resources to be delivered to battle frontiers. Storage warehouses containing cloth equipment have been excavated throughout Tawantin Suyu. Defeated armies forced to retreat often burned all cloth unable to be carried, preventing enemy forces from capturing these valuable stashes. == Colonial Period ==

File:Colonial period womens mantle.jpg|thumb|Woman's mantle, 1600-1700 C.E., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire resulted in the immigration of Spanish settlers to the Andean coast. Middle- and upper-class Spanish families recognized the value of finely woven native textiles, and demanded luxury textiles to decorate their own homes. As a result, cumbi, a fine tapestry cloth woven from alpaca fibers, was modified to a Spanish color palette and produced for the homes and churches of settlers. The term tornasol refers to the style of textile absorbed by Andean weavers after the European context, characterized by a silky texture that appears to change color from different perspectives. Native weavers modified their technique to produce common items for their colonial audience. Bedcovers, table covers, rugs, and wall hangings became popular textile formats in the late 18th century. European influences introduced lace-inspired borders and stylized circular patterns. Historian Karen Graubart explains in her own work that Spanish policy makers obliged Indian women to make clothing, which would then be sold by their caciques. According to Graubart, this gender division of weaving occurred in the colonial period because Spanish policy makers assumed that Indian men would be busy with their mitas. The main buyers of this clothing were mitayos, indigenous laborers mostly working in mining areas, and urban Indians. Employers of Indian servants and laborers bought this clothing as well because many of them guaranteed outfits in their labor contracts. ==Gallery==

File:Paracas mantle, BM.jpg| File:Nasca. Mantle ("The Paracas Textile"), overall.jpg|Paracas textile, 100-300 C.E., Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn. File:Paracas Mantle.jpg| File:Tunic fragment.jpg|Wari textile fragment, 650-900 C.E., Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven. File:Wari tunic - Textile Museum - Washington DC.jpg|alt=Tie-dyed piecework| File:Border Fragment MET DP101363.jpg|Border fragment, 900-1400 C.E., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. File:Tupa-inca-tunic.png| File:Textile fragment.jpg|Painted textile fragment, 1000-1476 C.E., Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven. File:Quipu fragment.jpg|Cotton quipu, 1400-1600 C.E., Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven. File:Shirt MET DT5094.jpg|Chimu shirt, 1450-1550 C.E., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. File:Inca Quipu.jpg| File:Dos quechuas con siku y caja.jpg| == See also ==