6 TEXTILE FABRICS OF ANCIENT PERU. 



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in the identical positions in which they were discovered. At the right 

 are earthen vessels, baskets, and net- covered gourds, containing various 

 articles of food and art, and on the left a group of sepulchral banners, 

 and trophies of unknown use and significance. 



The burial grounds of Ancon, on the coast near Lima, have probably 

 furnished the greatest quantity of rich stufis, and many museums are 

 now well stocked with handsome specimens from this famous necropolis ; 

 but similar finds are reported from Pachacamac, Paramonga, Cosma, 

 Huanico, Chimu, and other places scattered up and down the coast. 



The magnificent work of Eeiss and Stiibel, with its realistic chromo- 

 lithographic plates, places these relics before the world in the most sat- 

 isfactory manner i^ossible, and the handsome work of Wiener ,2 although 

 without colored plates, contains a multitude of instructive illustra- 

 tions. All of these textiles are much alike and appear to be the product 

 of a single period of culture, and, we may fairly assume, of kindred or 

 closely associated peoples. 



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Fig. 1. — The mummy pack and accompanying burials. 



The grade of culture represented by this work would seem to be very 

 high, considering American products onh', but its equivalent in old- 

 world culture must be sought in remote ages. This is shown in a strik- 

 ing manner when we place the more delicate pieces of Peruvian work 

 beside fabrics taken from the mummies of ancient Egypt. In quality 

 of fabric, method of construction, color, and style of embellishment, 

 the correspondence is indeed remarkable. The closest analogy, so far 

 " Charles Wiener : P^rou et Bolivie, Paris, 1880. 



