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SPINNING AND WEAVING TOOLS FROM SANTA ISABEL, NICARAGUA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2008

Sharisse D. McCafferty  and
Geoffrey G. McCafferty
Sharisse D. McCafferty
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Earth Sciences, Room 806, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Geoffrey G. McCafferty*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Earth Sciences, Room 806, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
*
E-mail correspondence to:mccaffer@ucalgary.ca
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Abstract

Costume is one of the most significant forms of material culture in ethnographic contexts, yet remains of cloth are extremely rare at most archaeological sites. Artifacts that typically relate to textile production include spindle whorls and bone tools. This paper summarizes results of analyses of a large corpus of whorls and a remarkably extensive assemblage of bone tools from the Early Postclassic site of Santa Isabel in Pacific Nicaragua. Ethnohistoric sources identify several Mesoamerican groups as living in the region during the Postclassic period, with the Oto-Manguean-speaking Chorotega likely candidates for the cultural group at Santa Isabel. Textiles were probably made from cotton, among other plant fibers. In addition to cloth production, we consider the importance of spinning thread for fishnets and hammocks.

Type
Special Section: Recent Archaeological Research on Mesoamerican Textile Production
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , Spring 2008 , pp. 143 - 156
Copyright
Copyright ©Cambridge University Press 2008

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