The amazing mastery of Andean weaving and dyeing that surpassed the craft as known to Europeans at the time of contact is showcased in the vivid patchwork tunics of the Wari (Hurari) tribe, centred in what is now the western province of Ayacucho in Peru, which were well-preserved in desert burials. Surviving textiles also including hats and tapestries as grave goods, featured abstract motifs—possibly coded and too make through geometric distortions to make the wearer appear larger and more imposing befitting of their rank. These garments, whose requisite skills and traditions predate the Conquista by hundreds of years (circa the sixth to the tenth century) and have been transmitted and appropriated to an extent by successor cultures, both pre-Columbian and settlers, imparted as tribute along with treasure, but none can compete with this ancient that involved the multidisciplinary practise that involved exotic pigment-sourcing and precise llama husbandry for the ideal substrate, revealing social stratification and hierarchy. View a whole gallery at Public Domain Review at the link above.
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica) plus Saint Mรฉl
seven years ago: women’s suffrage in Britain (1918), MLK, Jr on capitalism, more links to enjoy plus a vocabulary lesson
eight years ago: amoeboid robots
nine years ago: the evolution of corporate logos, high-definition rewatches plus threatening dust bunnies
ten years ago: vaccine scepticism plus even more links