Peru (Andean region)

Pre-Columbian and Historical Andean Tapestry Tunic Ornamentation

2946

Date: Crafted across the pre-Columbian and historical Andean periods, spanning broadly from 400 B.C.E. to 1800 C.E.. Period: Pre-Columbian and Colonial Andean / Intermediate to Late Horizon and Historical periods.

Social and Political Status: Worn as a high-status garment by Andean lords, elite warriors, or nobility. In the Inca and pre-Inca Andean worlds, textiles served as primary symbols of wealth, political authority, and social rank—often outvaluing gold and silver. Cosmological and Ritual Function: The garment functioned as a wearable map of the sacred universe (ceque system), encoding mythic ancestry, clan identity, and sacred geography through abstract iconography.