Basic Table: Sites, Periods, and Number
of Specimens in Study
===================================================
| | No. 4- | No. 16- | Total
Site | Period | specs. | specs. | specs.
---------+--------------+--------+---------+-------
A | Late Chincha | 2 | ... | 2
B | Late Chincha | 2 | 1 | 3
C | Late Chincha | ... | 37 | 37
| and Inca | | |
D | Late Chincha | 7 | 41 | 48
"Near" D | | 4 | ... | 4
E | Late Chincha | 10 | 9 | 19
| and Inca | | |
"Near" E | | 1 | ... | 1
F | Late Chincha | 2 | ... | 2
---------+--------------+--------+---------+-------
Totals | | 28 | 88 | 116
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Most of the fabrics described in the literature on ancient Peruvian
textiles are characterized by beauty of coloring or arresting designs
or unusual workmanship--sometimes by all three. These all-cotton
Chincha specimens have none of the expectable features. First and last
they seem to have served utilitarian purposes; for that reason, most
of them are comparable to our so-called domestics. The larger ones are
probably mantles: the proportions of the largest two-breadth pieces
with full dimensions (4-3973d, 59.5 in. by 66 in. and 16-1250, 52 in.
by 61 in.) place them in this group; a third specimen (16-1292), also
formed of two breadths (intact breadth 35 in. plus fragmentary breadth
28 in.) was probably a mantle 62 inches by 70 inches over all. The
smaller specimens suggest scarves (or incomplete mantles), carrying
cloths, or kerchiefs (figs. 1, 2).
[Illustration: Fig. 1. Diagrams of eleven specimens with
length-to-width proportions approximately 1:1, as indicated by
diagonal. Seams in two-breadth textiles shown as broken lines.
Largest specimen, 59.5 inches by 66 inches.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2. Diagrams of seven rectangular specimens with
length-to-width proportions approximately 2:1 as indicated by
diagonal. Largest specimen, 62 inches by 22.5 inches.]
The fact that many of the Chincha cloths in the 16- lot had apparently
been roughly torn to rectangular shapes leads us to believe that the
excavator used them to wrap pottery specimens. Indeed, the majority
seem to have been used even by their makers as wrappings. A number of
them have long loose stitches or hanging cordlike threads, which
originally may have held several layers together. Many of the single
breadths have traces of seaming stitches on one or both selvages,
indicating that the original wrapping was two or three times its
preserved width.
A large proportion of the cloths in this group are badly worn and
clumsily patched. Two, three, and sometimes more pieces of irregular
shape applied to the base material and even on top of a first patch
are not infrequent (pl. 3,d). The mended fragments do not appear to
be either the original sizes or shapes. Many of them have been reduced
to their present rectangular shape by tearing off tattered (?) edges.
One small group of striped textiles in the 16- lot is a noteworthy
exception to the majority. Finely striped cottons similar to the one
in plate 5,d must certainly have been made for other than utility
cloths, probably for garments.
There are four small bags (or pads?) in the Chincha 4- lot. Three of
these were formed of small whole cloths sewed together at the sides
with running, double running, and whipping stitches respectively. The
fourth is made of a piece of an edge-stripe material and has one
loomstring end and one side selvage. On this bag the torn edges have
been turned in and seamed with a running stitch.
Ties for one of the bags have been made by plaiting in a 4-strand flat
braid the elements consisting of the two loomstrings plus an
additional 12-ply cord drawn through the corner of the bag to its
center point, thus giving two ends. Another of the bags has a draw
string formed by a 9-ply cord drawn through the top end with a running
stitch.