Full Description
Through a richly detailed examination of the practices of spinning yarn from the fleece of llamas and alpacas, Earth, Water, Fleece and Fabric explores the relationship that herders of the present and of the past have maintained with their herd animals in the Andes. Dransart juxtaposes an ethnography of an Aymara herding community, based on more than ten years fieldwork in Isluga in the Chilean highlands, with archaeological material from excavations in the Atacama desert.
Impeccably researched, this book is the first systematic study to set the material culture of pastoral communities against an understanding of the long-term effects of herding practices.
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements 1. Threads Through Time 2. Camelids, Land and Water in the South Central Andes 3. Caring for Herd Animals in Isluga 4. Flowers of the Herds: the Waynù Ceremony in Isluga 5. The Transformation of Fleece into Yarn 6. Historical Perspectives on Herding Technology 7. The Emergence of Herding Societies in the Atacama 8. The Yarns and Fabrics of Tulan Societies 9. Conclusions: Earth, Water, Fleece and Fabric. Appendix: The Yarns and Fabrics of the Atacama. Glossary of Terms. Bibliography.
