Textile Coca Containers from Chiribaya Alta, Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

While the bioarchaeology of Chiribaya Alta is well documented, there is little available data from the textiles at the site. This poster presents data from three types of textile coca containers recovered from the mortuary contexts at Chiribaya Alta. These are chuspas, or coca bags, which are brightly colored and often decorated with three stripes of iconographic designs. Inkuñas, or kerchiefs used for coca bundles, are less often decorated with iconography but have weft twining at the warp selvages. The third type of container is bolsa-fajas, which are long rectangular bags with braided ties at the end. These also are brightly colored and decorated with iconography. In this poster, we summarize the technical elements of these different textile containers and consider their social significance as a part of coca ritual, mortuary practice, and identity.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37061.0