Andean Arts

HUACA PRIETA AND PRE-CERAMIC TEXTILES

Junius Bird excavated the site of Huaca Prieta, in the Chicama Valley (north coast of Peru) during the early 20th century.  It is primarily through Bird’s findings at Huaca Prieta that we have been able to define the techniques and iconography of pre-ceramic textiles.  These textile techniques did not involve a loom. 

One of the techniques used in Huaca Prieta textiles is looping (not pictured here). Looping involves making rows with loops of thread that interlock with earlier rows directly above them (arranged in a linear manner or as a spiral).  The overall appearance of looped textiles resembles knitting.  However, looping results in a sturdier textile that does not come “undone” when pulled. 

Also present in Huaca Prieta textiles are many examples of twining (a twined textile is pictured in this image).  In loom weaving, warps are the threads that run lengthwise on the loom.  Wefts are the threads that are woven horizontally on a loom, weaving in and out of warps.  However, in twining there is no loom or any other mechanical device, technically.  Warps and wefts can be manually manipulated back and forth much like in basket weaving.  There are many ways to incorporate designs onto twined textiles, including the manipulation of warps.  Warps of different colors could be paired and held in place with wefts so that different colors would be on each side of the textile.  Designs could be made by moving the warps from one side to the other (back to front and vice versa). Supplementary warps in different colors could also be added to the textile to create designs.

Some of the earliest textiles that use indigo dye have been documented in Huaca Prieta. You can see a Huaca Prieta textile with indigo dyed threads in this Smithsonian Magazine article. Note that it is very difficult to see the blue stripes on the photograph, but there is an illustration that serves to reconstruct what the design originally looked like.

The iconography of Huaca Prieta textiles also included representational designs, including variations of bird motifs. Some of these birds have snake-like forms incorporated into their bodies and there are also representations of paired birds in a single design. But bird motifs are not the only themes in Huaca Prieta art.  Junius Bird excavated pyroengraved gourds with frontal anthropomorphic faces with rectangular eyes and mouths.  The composition around the gourds is separated into quarters.