186 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



The contemporary progress of civilization is shown by the fact 

 that the textile arts were quite as fully developed in America 

 when the existence of another continent was revealed to the Euro- 

 peans as in Europe itself. Spinning and weaving had been prac- 

 ticed among the ancient people of Peru and Mexico for a period 

 of time which can not be limited by any knowledge we possess, 

 and by practically the same methods which obtained in the na- 

 tions whose records came within the ken of history centuries 

 earlier. 



The Mexicans spun and wove cotton, and the Peruvians both 

 cotton and wool, into fabrics which the Spaniards found in every 

 way equal to anything they had known at home. The Peruvians, 

 in particular, were adepts in the art. When Pizarro made the 

 conquest of their country in 1533, he found in the empire of the 

 Iricas four species of animals little different from each other, 

 which he called the sheep of the country (carneros de la terra), 

 because of their general resemblance to the Spanish sheep, and 

 the similar utilization of its fiber. Two of the species, the llama 

 and alpaca, had been in a state of domestication from time imme- 

 morial, the remaining varieties, the vicuna and the guanaca, 

 living in a wild state in the fastnesses of the Andes. From a 

 variety of sources we are able to' obtain minute details of the 

 importance which the Government attached to these animals, and 

 the large part which they played in the domestic economy of the 

 country. 



The Peruvian woolen fabrics were of three kinds a coarse 

 woolen cloth, which they called avasca, which formed the raiment 

 of the common people ; a finer variety, called compi, worn by the 

 captains and officials ; and still another, also called compi, but of 

 much finer quality, reserved for the use of persons of royal blood. 

 Specimens of this cloth, still preserved, reveal a fineness of texture 

 and an exquisite finish which modern ingenuity rarely equals. 

 Both sides of these cloths were woven alike. The delicacy of the 

 texture gave it the luster of silk, while the brilliancy of the dyes 

 employed excited the envy and admiration of the European arti- 

 san. The Peruvians made also shawls, robes, carpets, coverlets, 

 and hangings in great varieties of patterns. They knew how to 

 produce an article of great strength and durability, by mixing 

 the hair of animals with the fleece of their llamas. 



Garcilasso gives a very pretty picture of the domestic life of 

 the Peruvians, which was largely occupied in this manufacture. 

 There was little sewing to be done, according to his accounts, 

 " because the cloths worn both by men and women had few seams. 

 All they wove was first twisted. All the cloths were taken from 

 four selvages. They did not have the warp longer than was re- 

 quired for each woolen shirt. The vestments were not cut out, 



