The fibers and dyes were found locally or were traded for at markets. Dyes and mordants were found in plants, insects, marine creatures, and minerals. There is an abundance of materials sufficient to study the evolution of design elements in these materials, unlike their Mesoamerican counterparts.įibers used during the pre-Conquest period in Mesoamerica and eastern South America include a fine white cotton, a short-fiber brown cotton, bast fibers, rabbit hair, spider web, and feathers, all of these plus cameloid hair (llama, alpaca, and vicuña) were used in western South America as well. And, fortunately, unlike Mesoamerica, the arid Paracas peninsula held its treasure of bodies wrapped in their layers of beautifully woven costumes: color coordinated, with matching motifs brocaded in complimentary hues. These developing cultures supported and encouraged the weaving craft. In the pre-Conquest Andes the early culture of the Chavín and other regional cultures evolved into the civilization of the Inca.

These were woven in a variety of complex patterns decorated with brocading and open-weave techniques. Motifs on pottery, murals, stelae, and codices depicting ceremonial figures dressed in court attire have been our best early evidence with the exception of textile fragments retrieved from the sacred Canada at the Toltec-Maya site of Chichén Itzá. Acid soil conditions have destroyed most of the native textiles and there are few left more than a century old. The nobles, priests, and warriors wore mantles with brocaded motifs denoting their rank and status.

In the Aztec codices of the fifteenth century the tribute lists show the old Mayan area under Aztec control paid tribute in woven goods. Despite the decline of the Mayan civilization in the eleventh century, weaving continued. In the Mayan religion Ixchel was the goddess of weaving and women were the primary weavers. In Mesoamerica the culture of the early Olmec evolved into the civilization known as the Maya (1500 bce–ce 1100). A full range of techniques were developed, including gauze, brocading or secondary warp and weft threads, double-cloth, and tapestry weaving. Although many indigenous groups wove, the craft as an art form was developed by the Maya in Mesoamerica and the Inca in the Andes. Common also to the varied societies were the dynamic use of color with availability of an abundance of natural dyes.

These light-weight, wooden looms were economical and easily transported. The backstrap loom was used by many indigenous groups and a variation of it can be seen in the stake loom of the Andes. Used throughout the weaving cultures of the Americas was a loom based on a group of sticks using the body or stakes to provide tension. Cotton was one of the first cultivated crops in the warm coastal areas of the Americas. Twined flexible fibers such as grasses, cotton, and hair produced the first weaving threads. Twining, or twisting the fibers together to produce a long continuous rope, was the primary skill needed to provide a satisfactory alternative to vines and reeds, both used by hunters and basket makers. Pictorial motifs denoting rank, religion, and politics were a form of visual communication that allowed the weavings to be traded over very large areas, throughout the Andean region and from Mexico to Costa Rica.īasic to most early cultures were the techniques of twining and, very early on, weaving. Before the Conquest it was a major expression of culture. The tradition of weaving is one of the earliest crafts known to the inhabitants of Latin America.

Leclerc mayan backstrap loom