Textile had a major ceremonial role in the Inca empire, and is therefore often researched in Andean archaeology. However, the focus is often on either the production process of the cloth, or on the...Show moreTextile had a major ceremonial role in the Inca empire, and is therefore often researched in Andean archaeology. However, the focus is often on either the production process of the cloth, or on the symbolic value. These approaches are rarely combined. This research focusses on the clothing of five Inca Capacocha mummies: The three individuals from mount Llullaillaco, the young boy from mount El Plomo, and the female adolescent from mount Ampato. The connection between the technology and the meaning of the woven garments is investigated through literature analysis. Technology and style meet in the structure of the textile, as the design is embedded in and part of the woven fabric itself, and the completeness of the structure can be considered a stylistic feature. The two aspects also meet in what the designs depict. These are abstract patterns that represent symmetry, repetitions, contrasts and inversions, all concepts that are found back in Inca socio-political systems, ideology, and the actual structure of woven cloth. Finally, technology meets symbology in the artisans, the people who infuse the raw material with meaning through the process of production. Their social identity and their investment of labour and time gives the textile its value and prestigious status. Treating textile as the unity that it is, brings us one step closer to understanding the people involved in the production and consumption of these goods. When approached holistically, textile holds the potential to inform us on culturally specific ideas, preferences, and values within a society, through the messages that it carries within both its structure and symbols.Show less
The hermeneutic interpretation of cultural tradition moves away from the surface meanings of material culture or ritual to focus on the historical and social context within which these meanings are...Show moreThe hermeneutic interpretation of cultural tradition moves away from the surface meanings of material culture or ritual to focus on the historical and social context within which these meanings are produced, transmitted, or reinterpreted through time. This thesis takes a long-term perspective on the perception of the Mixtec or Ñuu Dzaui sacred landscape, and strives to understand the meaning of cultural concepts in the terms of the Mixtec people themselves. Due to its temporal depth, it is argued that the Mixtec cultural tradition can be approached by investigating the symbolism of its sacred landscape from a multidisciplinary perspective focusing on archaeological contexts, pictorial manuscripts as well as contemporary rituals and oral history. In light of this, hermeneutical historical interpretation offers important insights for landscape archaeology. In both cases, the past and the present are approached in relation to each other, a relationship which is materialized in the concept of the sacred landscape. From the perspective of individual communities, sacred geography and ceremonial sites foster cultural continuity insofar as religious symbolism is transmitted through rituals conducted in meaningful landscape locations.Show less
