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Reconstructing Prehistoric Textile and Ceramic Technology from Impressions of Cloth in Figurines from Ecuador

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2011

Karen E. Stothert ,
Kathleen A. Epstein ,
Thomas R. Cummins  and
Maritza Freire
Karen E. Stothert
Affiliation:
Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX 78284
Kathleen A. Epstein
Affiliation:
Dept. of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712
Thomas R. Cummins
Affiliation:
Dept. of Art History, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284
Maritza Freire
Affiliation:
Museo Antropol6gico, Banco Central del Ecuador, Guayaquil, Ecuador
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Abstract

A method is described for using vinyl polysiloxane dental impression material to make high definition casts from ceramic objects that bear negative imprints of textiles. Casts made from impressions found on prehistoric ceramic figurines from Ecuador were examined under magnification and features of the yarns and weaves were described. The data are used to reconstruct prehistoric spinning and weaving technology. The use of cloth in figurine manufacture and the reconstructed textile technology are interpreted in spatial, temporal and cultural perspectives.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 185: Symposium G – Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology II , 1990 , 767
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1990

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References

1. Stothert, K.E. and Epstein, K.. Nawpa Pacha 25 (Institute of Andean Studies, Berkeley, accepted for publication).Google Scholar
2. Cummins' research in Ecuador was supported by a grant from the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology andEthnology at MIT. Stothert's research in Ecuador was sponsored by the Museo Antropol6gico, Banco Central del Ecuador (Guayaquil), and by the Corporaci6n Estatal Petrolera Ecuatoriana.Google Scholar
3. Valdez, F., Proyecto Arqrueol6gico La Tolita (Fondo Arqueol6gico del Museo del Banco Central, Quito, Ecuador, 1987), p. 55.Google Scholar
4. Bushnell, G.H.S., The Archaeology of the Santa Elena Peninsula in South-West Ecuador (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1951), p. 54.Google Scholar
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