Knotting Accuracy & Dimension Variation in Modern Turkmen Carpets

Summary

A pilot study of pile carpet variation and error is carried out on ethnographic Turkmen carpets. No such work has been previously published, and so this analysis provides basic data and conclusions on carpet variation, including type and intensity of variation, to be used as a starting point for further study of archaeologic carpet samples. Data is taken from six comparable carpets, informing on two aspects of carpet variation. The dimensions and knot densities of the carpets’ motifs are used to examine the variation introduced to the carpets through technological limitations of an upright loom. The carpets are found to be well standardized, with overall dimension and density error rates within range of the published limits of human replication ability (approx. 3%). However, underlying trends in the distribution of this variation informs on the abilities and tendencies of the knotters to correct for limitations of the loom technology. The accuracy of weaving patterns is also analyzed, giving indications of the error rate of the knotters in a highly repetitive task. The knotting error rate is found to be far below the accepted limit of replication, indicating significant, though not uniform use of external aids of manufacture.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20742