From C & J - Day 4 Archaeological Textile Course

Today's history lecture was about the Tiwanaku and Wari cultures. This page (scroll down a tiny bit) has a good map that shows the expansion of these 2 cultures and it includes Pachacamac which gives us some context. The Wari are of particular interest because of their similarities to the Inca, in that they were a true expansionist state that controlled labor, taxes, etc. Also the influence of the Wari culture over the site of Pachacamac during the Middle Horizon is humongous.

The Wari are also known for their textiles: extremely fine yarns, warped imagery, vibrant colors (because in the highlands they used a lot of wool which holds dye better than cotton), tapestry weaving, unique tie-dyeing, and complicated combination of textile processes. Once again, some of the textiles found at Pachacamac were distinctly Wari in style, but may be a local imitation. An exhibit discussion of the difference between the influence of one culture's preferred style upon another is a must if we're going to attempt to explain the complexities of the imagery in this period.

We learned a lot about how an unbelievable amount of work was put into certain textiles possibly just to affect weight/drape, this is evident in the fact that the same visual effect could have been achieved by simpler means. There were a couple examples of this. This will help us visualize how certain textile artifacts would act on a body, based on analysis of their structure. Which, of course, will help in our reconstruction and attempting to make the 3D models feel as lifelike as possible.

We also worked on some pretty complicated structures on our looms (specifically double cloth and slit, interlocking, and dovetail tapestry) which again, helped us understand how and why certain designs are achieved. Then we had the opportunity to put our new knowledge to the test and analyzed some archaeological textiles in Bryn Mawr's wonderful collection. We discussed fiber type, weave structure, culture/time period, etc. After taking this course I feel competent analyzing an archaeological textile.