Travels of a rayed head: imagery, fiber, structure and connotations of early textiles from the South Central Andes

by

Ann Peters

 

The rayed head is a central symbol in south Central Andean textiles and other contemporary media. The image recurs in textile traditions spanning a thousand kilometers north-south between what is today central Peru and northern Chile, across a series of east-west transects in which ancient peoples circulated between high pasturelands (3500-4000 m. above sea level), steep highland valleys, desert plains cut by irrigated river valleys, and a shore rich in marine life.

 

This paper traces the rayed head in textile imagery between 300 BC and AD 400, from the ring-eyed frontal figures denominated the Paracas "Oculate Being" to the appendaged heads of Topará, early Nasca, Siguas and northern Chile.  I trace the diversity of fibers and techniques employed in these textiles, and what those fibers and techniques tell us about the varied social and geographic contexts through which the image traveled, was recreated and reinterpreted.

 

The related images transmit a very different 'personality' when rendered in fine or coarse yarns, cotton or camelid fiber, knotted, painted, embroidered or tapestry woven, in subtle or primary colors.  The types of textiles in which the image is rendered index different ways of life across this region and different social meanings of the textile for its makers, users and viewers.  These "non-iconographic" meanings can contribute to a deeper understanding of the importance of these textiles in carrying related images across the high roads and low roads of a large and diverse region.

 

 

Ann Peters received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Cornell University, specializing in the projection of social identities in dress and material culture in  Andean cultures. She has published several articles on textiles and other artifacts of the Paracas/Topara cultural tradition of south coastal Peru.  Her research interests on the semiotics of intentioned and unintentioned forms of visual communication includes study of archaeologically known societies, historical documents and contemporary Andean communities.  She has taught at several universities in the United States and in Chile, and is currently engaged in teaching and research at the Universidad de Tarapac·, Arica, Chile.