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Reconstructing Ancient Technology:

Explore ancient Guangala culture through textile imprint analysis on pottery sherds from Southwest Coastal Ecuador. Discover weaving techniques, fiber types, and trade networks of the pre-Colombian era.

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Reconstructing Ancient Technology:

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  1. Reconstructing Ancient Technology: The analysis of Pre-Columbian Ecuadorian Textiles

  2. Project Objective • To uncover aspects of the Guangala culture through analysis of textile impressions on pottery sherds.

  3. Introduction • The people of the Guangala region lived between 500 BC and AD 800 • Southwest Coastal Ecuador • No recorded history • Left artifacts with textile imprints

  4. Background Information:Culture • Textiles played central role in pre-colonial South American cultures. • Textiles often showed status, identity, and had ceremonial implications. Mummy from Paracas, Peru

  5. The Guangala (500 BC – AD 800) • No evidence of any social stratification. • Communities simply organized. • Evidence that they were long-distance traders. • Not definitively tied to any modern culture.

  6. Textiles and Ceramics in the Guangala • The Guangala also used textiles in ceramics. • Textiles were usually recycled textiles, not textiles made specifically for ceramic production.

  7. Background Information: Textiles • Important component of Textiles: Warp and Weft

  8. Types of Plain Simple Weaves Balanced Warp-faced Weft-faced

  9. Textile Characteristics to Find • Number of threads in the warp and the weft • Type of weave • The fiber type • Thread diameter • Number of threads per centimeter • Regularity

  10. Method • Artifacts vs. experimental molds • Negative to positive images

  11. Observation Techniques • Photography • Light microscope • SEM

  12. Experimental • These are modern textiles of known material and technological processes. • Compared to artifacts.

  13. Cotton Saddlebag

  14. Cotton Towel

  15. Sheep Wool Bag

  16. Cabuya Coaster

  17. Cabuya Purse

  18. Alpaca Poncho

  19. The Artifacts • Artifacts range from Early Guangala (Artifact 5) to Late Guangala (Artifacts 1 and 3). • From El Azúcar Valley – varied sites.

  20. Artifact 1

  21. Artifact 1 - Cast Excavated Floor

  22. Artifact 2

  23. Artifact 3

  24. Artifact 3 - Cast

  25. Artifact 4

  26. Artifact 4- Impression

  27. Artifact 4 - Cast Above: Artifact cast Below: Alpaca poncho Above: Weft dominant Below: Warp dominant

  28. Artifact 5- Artifact, Casts

  29. Artifact 5 Side ASimple Plain Balanced Superimposed

  30. Conclusion • Hypothesis: Balanced Plain Weaves, irregularities, worn-down textiles • Actual: complex weaves with evidence of designs and color schemes • Conclusion: Sophisticated and Skilled • Alpaca fibers found although evidence suggests that there were no llamas on the coast • Trading System and Economic System

  31. Acknowledgments • Thank you Dr. Masucci for your guidance and support as our project leader. Thanks especially for the food!!! • Thank you Danielle for your long hours of patience and dedication and for just being cool. Cabooyah! • Thank you Dr. Miyamoto for everything.

  32. Works Consulted • [1] Masucci, Maria. Introductory Speech. New Jersey Governor’s School in the Sciences. Hall of Sciences, Drew University, New Jersey. July 2006 • [2] Boytner, Ran. 2004. Clothing the Social World. In Andean Archaeology, edited by Helene Silverman, pp. 130-145. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing • [3] Bruhns, Karen Olsen. The Story of a Sherd: The Second Oldest Textile in Ecuador. 12 July 2006 <http://username.sfsu.edu/~kbruhns/textile.html> • [4] Stothert, Karen E., Kathleen A Epstein, Thomas R. Cummins and Maritza Freire. “Reconstructing Prehistoric Textile and Ceramic Technology From Impressions of Cloth in Figurines From Ecuador.” Materials, Research Society, Symposium Proceedings., Vol. 185 (1991) pp. 767-776. • [5] Emery, Irene. The Primary Structures of Fabrics. The Textile Museum, Washington D.C.: 1966. p.10. • [6] Doyon-Bernard, Suzette J. La Florida’s Mortuary Textiles: The Oldest Extant Textiles From Ecuador. The Textile Museum, Washington D.C.: 1993-1994. pp. 82-102. • [7] Parker, JH and KE Stothert. Weaving a Cotton Saddlebag on the Santa Elena Peninsula of Ecuador. The Textile Museum Journal 1983; Vol. 22: pp.19-32. • [8] Rowe, Sarah Marie. Symbolic Function and Social Design: Analysis of Guangala Polychrome Ceramics from Coastal Ecuador. A Thesis in Anthropology, Drew University, New Jersey. May 2003. • [9] Bruhns, Karen Olsen. Ecuador’s Second Oldest Textile. The Textile Museum Journal 2001-2002. pp. 119-125.

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