326 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.55. 



ing. Mr, M. D. C. Crawford has described some cloth like this 

 under the name of " double cloth." ^ Two sets of yarn were used, 

 but they were firmly locked together as a result of the interchange of 

 color areas. 



The ribbed slings from Coyungo and Nasca, which shoAv a combi- 

 nation of flat or partly flat cords with a tripartite subdivision of the 

 cradle, form a fourth group. No. 301022, coming from Nasca, and 

 Nos. 301124-301135, inclusive, and Nos. 301153-301155, inclusive, 

 coming from Coyungo. The flat part of the cords is elaborately 

 braided. The two end divisions of the cradle have all their ribs (usu- 

 ally four in number) bound together with colored threads, which 

 form a geometrical pattern on the surface; the middle division has 

 the ribs bound in pairs, and the decoration there is less elaborate than 

 at the ends. 



The four groups just reviewed comprise the more noticeable depar- 

 tures from the ordinary sorts of solid-cradled and of ribbed slings. 

 Individual peculiarities and minor points relative to the grouping 

 of the ribs can best be noted in the detailed notes on the collection. 



The great difference between the solid-cradled type of sling and 

 the ribbed type lies in the fact that in the former the decoration rests 

 in the fundamental threads out of which the fabric is woven or 

 braided, and that the tissue is solid and compact throughout the length 

 of the cradle. In the case of the ribbed slings, on the other hand, the 

 ornamentation lies in the superficial binding, which has nothing to 

 do with the structural basis of the fabric save in so far as it encases 

 the threads which compose it. Moreover, the cradles of the ribbed 

 type are not solid and compact; they are broken up lengthwise into 

 pronounced ribs separated by grooves and interstices. The threads 

 of the binding of such a cradle are usually of two or more colors, and 

 the manner in which these are arranged combined with the pattern 

 in which the ribs are bound, whether in pairs, in threes, or fours, or 

 singly, brings out the decorative element which is so prominent in 

 most of the specimens. In most of the specimens of the ribbed type 

 the technique of the binding is very much like that of some sorts of 

 basket-work, for there is often a decorative purpose in the intervals 

 at which the binding threads have been made to step from rib to 

 rib, thereby combining the necessary function of binding the ribs to- 

 gether with an ornamental arrangement of spaces. No. 301071, from 

 I^mas, is the best example of this technique. (See pi. 25, fig. 2.) 

 The method by which the slings of the solid-cradled type were made 

 bears, in general, a greater resemblance to the ordinary textile tech- 

 nique. In some cases there is a true warp and a true woof; again, 

 the woof is sometimes replaced by a continuous warp, which zigzags 

 from side to side throughout the length of the fabric. Finally, braid- 

 ing, of a rather elaborate nature, is common. 



•Crawford, 1916. p. 135. 



