Los tejidos huari y tiwanaku: comparaciones y contextos

Abstract

Huari and Tiwanaku Textiles: Comparisons and Contexts

Like all aspects of material culture, textiles related to Huari and Tiwanaku exhibit many similar iconographic characteristics, but remain essentially distinct in terms of construction and techniques of manufacture. Huari textiles uncovered in many sites along the Peruvian coast have both close design ties to the Tiwanaku center and design innovations clearly separate from any central source. Most Tiwanaku textiles remain much more restricted in designs more clearly oriented to the standard icons known from Tiwanaku stone sculpture. Even though both cultures created garments that seem remarkably similar at first glance such as the man's tapestry tunic and four-pointed hat, as well as unusual textiles such as discontinuous warp and weft tie and dye patchwork mantles and shirts, each of these textiles is constructed differently within its respective sphere of influence.

Huari tunics use brilliant patterning in two separate webs or fabric pieces that are cut from the loom, folded, and then sewn together. Only a few Tiwanaku tunics have survived, but these all were woven like later Inca types, with one single web and the neck slot created within the weaving process. Huari four-pointed hats are remarkably similar to hats with four points discovered in the Tiwanaku sphere, but Huari hats have pile in the knots and Tiwanaku 's hats depend on the color change of the knots and yarns alone. The authors discuss a larger series of textiles with iconography that relates them to the highland centers where cloth has not been preserved. Huari textiles from El Brujo, Chicama Valley, Peru are discussed in context along with Tiwanaku textiles from well preserved burials in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. The article discusses the similarities and differences in textiles from Huari and Tiwanaku.