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The Paracas culture is named aftera desert peninsula on the southerncoast of Peru. In translation, theword Paracas means, "sand fallinglike rain". During the 1920s,ancient desert cemeteries werediscovered in the Paracas area.

The Ancient Americas: Art FromSacred LandscapesRichard F. Townsend

Paracas Portrait

21 cm x 23 cmpencil on paper

Drawing by Christiane Clados

Paracas Embroidered Mantel DetailParacas

The people of the Paracaspeninsula on Peru’s south coast areknown for producing the beautifuland artistic textiles that influencedensuing cultures through the timeof the Inca in the 16th century.

Since this coastal region of Peru isso extremely dry, the climate haspreserved the bodies of the deadand their burial goods. Each of thebodies was wrapped for burial inlayer upon layer of clothing andother textiles, forming whatarchaeologists call a "mummybundle."

Many bodies, particularly those inParacas burial sites, were wrappedin magnificent embroidered textilesthat fueled the greed of therobbers. In the ancient Andeanworld, textiles played a profoundsymbolic role in sacred and secularlife. Andean textiles are among themost complex ever made (some oftheir techniques have never beenreplicated), and the prestige ofcloth was directly related to theextraordinary energy that spinners,dyers, weavers, and embroiderersexpended to produce it.

Mummy Bundle Named Big BirdCalifornia Institute for Peruvian Studies

ART AND ARTIFACTS

Paracas Embroidered Mantle DetailParacas 500/200 BC

Chavín de Huántar 900-200BC

The first great art style of the geographicalarea that is now Peru was that of thecivilization that flourished at Chavín de Huántarin the northern highlands. A more or lesscontemporaneous culture of the north coastproduced a style of pottery known asCupisnique.

The Culture of Paracas: The Power ofGarments

The culture of Paracas flourished for severalcenturies in one of the driest areas of theAndes. During its apogee, from 300 BCE to 200CE, its influence extended throughout southernPeru’s coastal valleys. The people of Paracasburied their dead in elaborate funerarybundles, wrapping them in layer upon layer offinely woven and embroidered textiles. Many ofthese bundles contained sheet-gold masks aswell as offerings of Spondylus shell importedfrom the Ecuadorian coast far to the north.

The lords of Paracas lived in multi-tiereddwellings built on the slopes of hills and worestunning garments decorated with ofembroidered images of their gods; the richcolors and intricate designs of their garmentsresemble paintings more than embroideredtextiles. Fine garments such as these definedsocial position and status. In addition, themembers of the Paracas elite wore wigs orcolored their hair with a red pigmentcontaining poisonous mercury that often led toan early death for the society’s elite.

Male Headdress I of the late Paracas Period

21 cm x 23 cmpencil on paper

Pencil Drawing by Christiane Clados

Male Headdress I of the Late ParacasPeriod

Turbans were the predominant head garmentsof the Peruvian South Coast. The lords ofParacas wore elaborately wrapped turbans,some of which reached seven meters in lengthwhen undone.

Turban Band of the Paracas Culture

Ann Paul 1990Paracas Ritural Attire: Symbols of Authority in Peru

The turban in the reconstruction portrait iswrapped so that the tassels on both endsadorn the ruler’s forehead. The gold discs onthe sides of his face are not earrings; they areattached to the wig he wears under his turban.His shirt and his richly embroidered mantle arepart of a set; the mantle covers his shouldersleaving only the collar of his shirt visible.

Both are decorated with a motif thatrepresents a mythical being linked to thecycles of death, rebirth, and agriculturalfertility. These motifs are also associated withheadhunting and the trophy cult, widespreadphenomena of the Peruvian South Coast.

Male Headdress II of the late Paracas Period

21 cm x 28 cmoil and ink on paper

Drawing by Christiane Clados

Male Headdress II of the Late ParacasPeriod

This reconstruction shows the headdress ofan elegantly dressed man of Paracas. His tallturban consists of multiple bands embroideredin their entirety with colorful motifs thatrepresent mythical beings.

Turban Band of the late Paracas Culture Decoratedwith Mythical Beings

Helmut Schindler 2000Staatliches Museum f. Voelkerkunde

Muenchen, Muenchen

Gold discs are attached to the two bands of theturban that appear on both sides of his face,and his hair is colored red and braided underthe turban. The palette of colors and the laborinvested in Paracas garments are astonishing.Nearly 190 different colors are recorded and asmany as seven artisans may have worked on asingle mantle. (Clados 2004)

Paracas mantles from Peru feature figures ofritually costumed priests, each clutching ananimal by his side. Both priests and animalsdisplay human and animal traits, illustratingthe religious connections between the socialand natural orders. Mantles of this complexitybelonged to the ruling elite and were worn onlyon important religious and festive occasions.Some were intended as burial clothes to beworn in the afterlife, representing thedeceased’s status and office in the land of theancestor spirits.

Paracas Embroidered Mantle EdgeDeborah Brinckeroff

Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Greenwich,Connecticut

Paracas Woven Mantle

Nacional de Anthropologia y Arqueologia, Lima

ACTIVITIES

Paracas Ritual Attire: Symbols of Authorityin Ancient Peru

Ann Paul

Art • Language Arts • Technology

The Paracas culture is named after adesert peninsula on the southern coast ofPeru. In translation, the word Paracasmeans, "sand falling like rain". During the1920s, ancient desert cemeteries werediscovered in the Paracas area. Since thiscoastal region of Peru is so extremely dry,the climate has preserved the bodies of thedead and their burial goods. Each of thebodies was wrapped for burial in layerupon layer of clothing and other textiles,forming what archaeologists call a"mummy bundle."

The Paracas culture is famous for the craftand beauty of these once-buried textiles,which, amazingly, have survived for overtwo thousand years. Look carefully atthese textiles. What do you notice first?Identify the images that are repeated overthe whole surface of many of the textiles.

A mantle is a large rectangular cloth wornover the shoulders like a cloak. The areawithout fringe would have been placedover the wrists. Each of the motifs isembroidered onto the woven fabric.Besides being very beautiful, this muchstitchery took a great deal of time tocomplete. Do you think this piece ofclothing was worn everyday or reserved fora special occasion? Explain. Since themantle is so elaborate, the owner probablywould not want to tear or soil it. Since it islarge and took a long time to make, itmust have been a precious item. Since itwas buried with the dead, it must havebeen a special piece of clothing. A lord withgreat authority, a priest, or a ruler wouldhave worn a mantle such as this. It

probably was worn only for specialoccasions and would have been buried withthe owner. The elaborateness of thismantle displayed his prestige and power toall who saw him.

Many of the birds on the textiles representa large South American condor, a vulturewhose wingspan can reach seven feet.Condors live in the Andes Mountains andare keen-sighted, strong creatures thatsoar in the skies. Refer to an encyclopediafor more information.

The chief, king, or priest who wore thesemantles would have been covered in birdsand would have been identified with thecondor, lord of the skies. What condorqualities would be important for a man?

Paracas Woven Headdress

Nacional de Anthropologia y Arqueologia,Lima

Paracas Woven Mantle

Nacional de Anthropologia y Arqueologia,Lima

Social Studies • Science • LanguageArts • Technology

Look carefully at this textile mantle. Whatdo you notice first? Identify the imagesthat are repeated over the entire edge ofthe textile. How has the image of theheads been varied? Although there areseveral variations in the color and size ofthe figures, they all have diadems, widewingspans, and long legs ending in heads.Here is a detail of one of these figures.

Art • Language Arts

Ask the students to read The LeapingLlama Carpet by Marian and Ruth Waller.Identify the repeated images on thecarpet. How has the artist used theimages from Peruvian textiles for theillustrations? Design a repeat patternborder motif for a mantle of your own.

Research • Science • Technology •Language Arts

Have students conduct their own researchabout how a fabric is made—researchthrough the library, Internet, fabric stores.Have them bring in samples if they can,which can be displayed. Look at thedifferent kinds of construction techniquesused such knitting, tabby, netting,tapestry, looping, openwork, braiding,plaiting, feather work, beading, andembroidery. Make a chart and/or samplerof each of the techniques. Make detailedchart of drawings using designs fromChimu, Chancay, Nasca, Paracas, andMoche cultures--great flocks of pelicans,gulls, ducks, and fish. Various plant forms,monsters with huge eyes, head trophies,felines, birds and serpents.

TEXTBOOKS

Unwrapping Ancient Mysteries Invitations to Literacy Level 6 Theme 3 Houghton Mifflin 2001Discover Our Heritage The Ancient Americas Level 7 Chapter 6 Houghton Mifflin 2001

RESOURCES

Brinckerhoff, Deborah. Weaving for theGods: Textiles of the Ancient Andes.Greenwich, Connecticut: The BruceMuseum. 1999.

Ehlert, Lois. Moon Rope/Un Lazo a laLuna. San Diego, California: HarcourtBrace, Jovanovich Publishers. 1992.

Kauffmann-Doig, Federico. Ancestors ofthe Incas: The Lost Civilizations of Peru.Memphis, Tennessee: The MemphisInternational Cultural Center. 1998.

Stone-Miller, Rebecca. To Weave for theSun: Ancient Andean Textiles. New York,New York: Thames and Hudson. 1992.

Townsend, Richard F. The AncientAmericas: Art From Sacred Landscapes.Chicago, Illinois: The Art Institute ofChicago. 1992.

Townsend, Richard F. The Arts of theAncient Americas. Chicago, Illinois: The ArtInstitute of Chicago. 1992.

Voss, Gisela. Llama in Pajamas. Boston,Massachusetts: Museum of Fine Arts.1994.

INTERNET LINKS

Ancient Peruvian Textiles and Potteryhttp://www.rain.org/~pjenkin/textile/textile.html

Ancient Peruhttp://www.knoxart.org/html/exhibits/peru.htm

Clay and Clothhttp://www.textilemuseum.ca/clay_cloth/

Mummy Bundle Named Big BirdCalifornia Institute for PeruvianStudieshttp://www.cipstudies.org/wallace.htm

Paracas Man Wearing a Turban

Pencil Drawing by Christiane Clados

Paracas Mantle

Ann Paul

Mummy Bundle Named Big BirdCalifornia Institute for Peruvian Studies

GLOSSARY

TurbanA traditional headdress consisting of a longscarf of woven bands that is would aroundthe head.Context: The turban is the predominanthead garment of the Peruvian South Coast.The lords of Paracas wore wrappedturbans. Those turbans consisted of turbanbands, some as long as seven meters.

MantleA loose outer garment; a cloak.Context- Paracas mantles from Perufeature figures of ritually costumed priests,each clutching an animal by his side.

Mummy bundleA well-preserved body that resembles anembalmed body placed in a bundle.Context-. Mummification was practiced,and mummy bundles were placed in eithershaft tombs or in stone vaults.

Mythological beingsRelating to, or recorded in myths ormythology.Context- The mantle is decorated with amotif representing a mythical being that isassociated with the trophy cult and thefield’s fertility.

Embroidered Turban Band with MythologicalBeing

Helmut Schindler 2000