Decorated spindle whorls from Middle Horizon Pataraya

DECORATED SPINDLE WHORLS

FROM MIDDLE HORIZON PATARAYA

Matthew James Edwards, Francesca Fernandini Parodi, and Grace Alexandrino Ocaña

T he following pages present descriptive data ona specific class of artifacts recovered during ar-

chaeological excavations at the small Huari site ofPataraya, located in the mid-elevation reaches of theTierras Blancas valley of the southern Nasca drain-age of Peru (Figure 1), during the 2007 field seasonof the Pataraya-Ayacucho Archaeological Project. Thearchaeological remains at Pataraya are dominated bya 765 sq. meter, rectilinear compound that, whilesmall, exhibits classic Huari planning and construc-tion. Approximately 340 sq. meters of the compoundwere excavated, exposing 45% of the site’s original

Matthew James Edwards. Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, [email protected] Fernandini Parodi. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Perú, [email protected]. Grace AlexandrinoOcaña. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Perú, [email protected].

The production of cloth, even to meet a community’s most basic needs, is one of the most time-consuming activities innon-industrial societies. This would have been all the more true of the beautiful textile arts of the Andean MiddleHorizon. This paper presents data on a common artifact class related to textile manufacture, spindle whorls, recoveredduring excavation at Pataraya, a Huari colony located along a likely trade route between the south coast and the sierrain the southern Nasca Valley. The whorls were specially made, well-crafted, and nicely decorated. They were found ina number of different contexts suggesting that spinning was an ongoing, continuous activity woven into the other dailychores, special tasks, and extraordinary events of life at Pataraya.

La producción de textiles en una sociedad no industrializada es una de las actividades que más tiempo consume,incluso cuando esta producción se realiza únicamente para cubrir necesidades básicas. En los Andes, esta premisadebió ser una realidad para el Horizonte Medio y su exquisito arte textil. Este artículo presenta datos relacionados conlas excavaciones realizadas en Pataraya, colonia Huari localizada en la ruta de intercambio entre la costa sur y lasierra, centrando el análisis en los piruros, artefactos elementales en la producción textil. Los piruros presentan unamanufactura bastante elaborada con decoración pintada en diseños polícromos. Estos fueron registrados en todo tipode contextos dentro del área excavada por lo que se propone que la actividad textil fue llevada a cabo, posiblemente pormujeres, tanto durante las labores domésticas como en eventos extraordinarios dentro del sitio de Pataraya.

habitation surface making it, to date, one of the mostthoroughly investigated and documented Huari sites.

Cultural deposits within the compound reflecta single occupation dating to Middle Horizon 1 and2 (A.D. 750–1100) based on stylistic affiliations. Inaddition to the architecture, a high percentage of well-made, Huari-style ceramics in the pottery assemblagesuggest that the site was well integrated into the pres-tige economy of the Middle Horizon and may haveplayed a role in Huari imperial policy in Nasca andthe south coast, likely in the areas of trade and re-source extraction.

88

Ñawpa Pacha 29

Figure 1. Study location map.

Besides pottery and lithic remains, the artifactassemblage from Pataraya contains a number ofspindle whorls, or piruros, the vast majority of themwell-crafted and nicely decorated. The specific func-tion of this special artifact type and their ubiquitousspatial distribution at Pataraya underscores the im-portance of textile manufacture during the MiddleHorizon and the way in which tasks related to thisindustry were woven into the very fabric of daily life.

One of the defining characteristics of Huari tex-tiles is the use of thread from both cotton and camelidfiber on the same loom. This simple fact may par-tially explain why Pataraya, a colony exhibiting theplanned architectural style associated with the Huaristate and clear cultural ties to the Huari cultural heart-land in the Huamanga Basin, yet located in a mar-ginal zone (during the MH at least) and seeminglytoo small to have played a direct role in administration,

89

Edwards, Fernandini, and Alexandrino: Decorated spindle whorls

might have been established in the first place. How-ever, the establishment of a Huari colony at about1300 meters above sea level near an Inca—and prob-ably older1—road to Nasca from the sierra, roughlyequidistant from the coastal plain below and thePampa Galeras above, suggests that movement ofgoods—perhaps cotton—from the coast to the si-erra may have been something the Huari were inter-ested in monitoring or controlling (see Clarkson1990: 126). Today the Nasca Valley is still a rich cot-ton growing region (Ayacucho-Ica 2003: 149), andthe Pampa Galeras an ideal habitat for camelids, serv-ing as a modern preserve for vicuña.

The spindle whorl data from Pataraya are pre-sented here in an effort to contribute to the corpusof published information about the organization oftextile-related labor in the prehispanic Andes gener-ally and, more specifically, about this common butinfrequently investigated artifact class (although seeChapdelaine et al. 2001; Conlee and Vaughn 1999;Costin 1993; Millaire 1997). In doing so we hope tofacilitate comparison between our finds and thosefrom other contexts.

PATARAYA

Pataraya is the place name given to a sector of theTierras Blancas drainage where the canyon broadenssomewhat, allowing for terraced agriculture along thevalley sides. Indeed the word “Pataraya,” combiningthe Quechua word for terrace (pata) and the Spanishword for line (raya), derives from the distinct linedappearance of the landscape in this zone created byagricultural terracing. The terraced fields themselvesare ancient and, while investigations are yet ongo-ing, current evidence suggests that many of the fieldswhere constructed by Nasca people during the EarlyIntermediate Period (EIP). This sector of the valleycomprises a smaller, lower area called Pataraya Chicoand a much larger terraced area around the modernvillage of Ronquillo, alternately called Upanca,Pataraya Grande, or just Pataraya, adjacent to whichis a recently excavated EIP site with an importantArchaic component (Vaughn and Linares 2006).

The archaeological site of Pataraya lies on a rela-

tively flat and exposed landform at Pataraya Chico.While the site encompasses other features includinga tract of agricultural terracing (smaller than that atPataraya Grande, but still impressive), about a dozenEarly Horizon house rings, and a few ancillary MiddleHorizon structures, the site is dominated by a recti-linear compound enclosed by a nearly square, outerperimeter wall measuring 21.4 m north to south by21.6 m east to west; two large open enclosures areappended to the exterior of the compound (Figure2). The area within the compound is divided alongboth axes forming four conjoined patio groups (A,B, C and D) within the perimeter wall. The outerwall has only a single entrance and entry to each ofthe four patio groups is achieved through a circui-tous system of corridors and doorways. The entrypatterns create a hierarchy of access that is impres-sive given the small size of the compound.

Although architecturally similar, archaeologicalevidence from the four patio groups within the com-pound shows considerable variability in the way theseareas were used. This functional variability echoesthe variability seen in patterns of access and privacy.

While the enclosing compound wall suggestsan overall concern with privacy, the patio groups onthe west, B and D, are considerably more privatethan the two on the east, A and C. Patio group A, infact, seems to have been the least private unit, serv-ing as both the control point for entrance to the morerestricted areas of B and D, and as the main locus fordomestic activities such as food processing and cook-ing, especially in its south gallery. While there aresome differences in the archaeological remains frompatio group C that we are continuing to explore, italso seems to have served as a space for carrying outvarious daily domestic chores.

The two patio groups on the west side of thecompound contained, in general, far fewer artifactsand virtually no evidence of cooking or other do-mestic activity. While architecturally similar in planto patio groups A and C, patio group D yielded sig-nificantly different archaeological deposits. The areawas unusually clean, both in terms of artifacts andfeatures. The area was not empty however, and al-though the patio appears to have been little used thedirt floors of the galleries were well compacted and a

90

Ñawpa Pacha 29

Figure 2. Pataraya site plan.

very well preserved cache of small but fancy Huariand Loro style cups and bowls, placed carefully onthe floor and then covered with light, clean soil, alongwith carved and uncarved spondylus artifacts, wasuncovered in the north gallery. Given its restrictedaccess, these observations suggest a private functionfor patio group D such as sleeping and leisure quar-ters, likely for the site’s most elite inhabitants.

Patio group B differs architecturally from theother three patio groups in that it is a single open

space, without associated galleries, and by its nice,smooth, and elevated mud plaster floor that was leftclean when the site was abandoned. Access is gaineddirectly from patio A. This nicely prepared openspace, while not large, suggests that it was perhaps alocale for small feasts, meetings, or rituals. Aroundthe perimeter of this patio lies the circuitous corri-dor leading from patio A to patio D.

Two unsubdivided enclosures (E and F) wereadded onto the compound exterior, the walls of each

91


abutting the main perimeter wall; a doorway wasopened in the compound wall to provide access toenclosure E. This enclosure had substantial walls, afully story high, while the small addition (F) seemsto have had very low walls, no more than a fewcourses, to demarcate space outside the compound.Deposits from area F suggest an outside work area,likely for domestic and other chores, such as flintknapping. Enclosure E has no structural subdivisionsor visible features, and its deposits are consistent withsecondary waste disposal built up over time by nu-merous individual discard events from cleaning epi-sodes within the compound. It strikes us as unlikelythat enclosure E was intended as a trash dump whenit was built, given the area’s comparatively large sizeand the effort made to provide direct access to it fromthe main compound. However, whatever the builder’soriginal plan for the space (expansion or storage arejust two possibilities) it only served this purposebriefly, if at all.

So, to summarize, archaeological evidence sug-gests that two of the four patio groups (A and C) inthe main compound were devoted to daily domesticactivities, especially food preparation. One of theremaining patio groups (D) served private functions,possibly sleeping quarters for the site’s most impor-tant inhabitants. The fourth area, the restricted patiospace B, served as a ceremonial area for group activi-ties such as feasts or other meetings. The large enclo-sure (E) added on to the east side of the main com-pound, whatever its originally intended function,became the receptacle for much of the domestic, andpossibly ritual, waste from the four groups of themain enclosure. An area added to the north of theoriginal enclosure (F) and demarcated by a low wallseems to have served as a working yard.

SPINNING AT PATARAYA

In addition to Pataraya’s location along an ancientroute between the sierra and the cotton-growingcoast, and its ties to the Huari culture, which is knownto have consumed cotton in the production of theirelaborate textile arts, ample evidence for spinningwas recovered from the site. Ninety-eight complete

and fragmented spindle whorls were recovered fromvirtually every context within the site (Figures 3 and4). As well, a substantial amount of chalk, which canbe used as a friction-reducing aid in spinning, wasdocumented, ranging from intact fragments to pul-verized remains pressed into floors. A shell fibercomb/pick tool was also recovered. However, due tothe good preservation of ceramic spindle whorls, mostof the evidence for the manufacture of textiles atPataraya comes from this class of artifacts.

The majority of spindle whorls was recoveredfrom secondary domestic deposits in units A and E.A number of whorls found in domestic refuse were,of course, broken. However, the majority (n=30 of43 whorls recovered in secondary trash deposits) werecomplete and found in good condition with no ob-vious defects or wear that may have ended their use-life, suggesting that whorls were occasionally dis-carded for reasons other than functional obsolescence.

Of those recovered from primary contexts(n=55), the majority (n=38) were recovered fromdomestic contexts, especially in patio group A (Fig-ure 3), and associated with other domestic activities,especially food preparation. However, despite thisobvious association, spindle whorls were foundaround the site, on patio and corridor floors, in theprivate space of patio group D, and three were evenfound swept into the corner and along the edges ofthe otherwise very clean, prepared floor of patio B(Figure 3 mm, pp, and qq). They were also recov-ered in small numbers from enclosure F (Figure 4),interpreted above as a domestic workshop area.

MIDDLE HORIZON SPINDLE WHORLS

AT PATARAYA

Basic attribute data were recorded for each spindlewhorl in the Pataraya collection (Table 1). These datainclude quantitative information: weight in grams,diameter of the whorl, diameter of the hole, and thick-ness in millimeters. If fragmentary, an estimate ofthe percent of the whole whorl represented by thefragment was made. Next, more qualitative infor-mation about each whorl was recorded using a cod-ing system developed to describe the material in this

92

Ñawpa Pacha 29

Figure 3. All spindle whorls recovered from domestic (patio groups A and C), ceremonial (patio group B), and privatecontexts (patio group D). Two of the five spindle whorls illustrated for patio group B are from the corridor surroundingthe plaza and were not recovered directly from ceremonial context.

93


Figure 4. All spindle whorls recovered from midden (enclosure E) and from the domestic workshop area (enclosure F).

collection alone (Table 2). First, material was noted.All whorls in this collection are ceramic so wherepossible, as when a whorl was already broken orchipped, an assessment was made regarding the qual-ity of the matrix. Two categories were identified: well-mixed with few inclusions and less well-mixed claywith a higher sand content. The overall body colorwas also recorded as a proxy for probable firing at-mosphere and these broke out into four main groups:dark gray, light gray, tan, and red. Gray body colortended to penetrate the matrix of the whorl suggest-ing a reducing atmosphere when fired, while red sug-gests oxidation. Overall shape was recorded: cylin-der, teardrop, oval, diamond, disk, sphere, crescent,and bell-shaped. If decorated, asymmetrical shapes

were assigned a secondary code for the general loca-tion of the decoration, top (smaller or flat end) orbottom. For symmetrical shapes (cylinder, oval, disk,or sphere), a second code recorded whether decora-tion was confined to one end or around the center.Decorations were described as incised, painted, orboth. Incised patterns come in four main forms: lines(e.g., see Figure 3 ii or jj), circles (e.g., Figure 3 c, h,and i), steps (e.g., Figure 4 dd), and other. Incisedlines were further refined as to whether they werelatitudinal, i.e., going around the body of the whorl,like a ring around the spindle hole (as in most of thespindles illustrated in Figures 3 and 4), or latitudi-nal, paralleling the axis of the spindle (e.g., Figure 3b, c, h, i, ss, and Figure 4 f ). All incised designs were

94

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3.

2 9.

6 10

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(Uns

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2.6

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3.

2 9.

0 98

1

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32

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(U

nsub

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1.

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96

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(U

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15.7

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7 7.

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(U

nsub

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100

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31

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(Uns

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nsub

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100

1 1

31

112

31

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(Uns

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2.5

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8 9.

5 10

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(Uns

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(Uns

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3.0

17.1

3.

1 11

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100

1 2

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112

53

1

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(U

nsub

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ded)

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9

2.9

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11

1

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32

53

1

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(Uns

ubdi

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d)

0.8

2.

9 7.

7 33

11

1

31

31

112

53

1 3

F (U

nsub

divi

ded)

1.

7 15

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2.6

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50

11

1

61

112

52

53

1 3

F (U

nsub

divi

ded)

2.

1 14

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2.9

10.5

95

1

1 21

11

2 52

55

1

3

F

(Uns

ubdi

vide

d)

2.6

17.4

3.

4 8.

4 10

0 1

2 51

31

1

F

(Uns

ubdi

vide

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2.9

16.6

2.

8 10

.0

100

1 1

21

112

52

51

53

1

2

Pro

veni

ence

Si

ze

Form

and

Dec

orat

ion*

Uni

t Su

b-un

it

Wei

ght

( g)

Dia

m.

(mm

)

Dia

m.

Hol

e (m

m)

Thi

ckne

ss

(mm

) %

C

ompl

ete

Mat

eria

l*

Bod

y C

olor

* Sh

ape*

D

ecor

atio

n*

Pai

nt*

97


Table 2. Codes for spindle whorl details.

Material 0 Unknown

1 Ceramic

11 Well-mixed, few inclusions

12 Poorly-mixed, sand temper

9 Other

Body Color 0 Unknown

1 Dark Gray

2 Light Gray

3 Tan

4 Red

9 Other

Shape 0 Unknown

1 Cylinder

2 Teardrop

21 Decorated top

22 Decorated bottom

3 Oval

31 Decorated end

32 Decorated center

4 Diamond

41 Decorated end

42 Decorated center

5 Disk

51 Decorated end

52 Decorated center

6 Sphere

61 Decorated end

62 Decorated center

7 Crescent

71 Decorated top (flat end)

72 Decorated bottom

8 Bell

81 Decorated top

82 Decorated bottom

Decoration 0 Unknown

1 Incised lines

11 With paint

111 Longitudinal

112 Latitudinal

12 Without paint

111 Longitudinal

112 Latitudinal

2 Incised circles

21 With paint

212 Half circles

22 Without paint

3 Incised steps

31 With paint

32 Without paint

4 Other incised

41 Dot

42 X

43 Face

44 Chevron

5 Painted design

51 White ticks

52 Red dash

53 Red ticks

54 Yellow ticks

55 Yellow dash

6 Polished

Paint colors 0 Unknown

1 Red

2 White

3 Yellow

98

Ñawpa Pacha 29

also coded as to whether they were also painted. Otherincisions encompassed the following special, and farmore rare, decorations: punctations or dots (e.g., Fig-ure 3 b), Xs (e.g., Figure 3 kk), chevrons (e.g., Fig-ure 3 vv), and faces (e.g., Figure 3 kk and ll). Inaddition to simply painting inside incised patterns,paint was also occasionally used to further elaboratethe decoration either as ticks (e.g., Figure 3 d, x, qq,c’, and Figure 4 b) or dashed lines (e.g., Figure 3 d,qq, a’, c’, and g’). Finally, paint colors were recorded.All painted whorls in the collection included one ormore of the following three colors: red, white, andyellow (see Figure 3 h and i, for example).

Sixty-one of the spindle whorls from Patarayawere recovered complete. Overall, the majority ofthe spindle whorls from Pataraya were similar in termsof their weight, averaging around 2.2 grams with astandard deviation of about half a gram, and, gener-ally speaking, light with all but three whorls weigh-ing between 1.3 and 3.1 grams. The majority ofwhorls were similarly made, decorated, and, presum-ably, used. The greatest variation in this group is inthe weight and thickness measures (although coeffi-cients of variation, CV, calculated on these measuresare still well below 1; 0.19 for weight and 0.15 fordiameter). The average weight of these whorls is 2.25grams with a standard deviation of 0.43 grams.2 Theaverage thickness is 9.3 millimeters (mm) with a stan-dard deviation of 1.4 mm, the thickest measures 12.4mm, the thinnest 6.6 mm. Variation in diameter ofthe whorl and the diameter of the spindle hole waseven less pronounced (CV for each measure is 0.08).The average diameter is 15.7 millimeters with thelargest whorl measuring 17.9 mm and the smallestmeasuring 12.7 mm; the standard deviation is 1.2mm. The spindles to which the whorls were affixed,as measured by the diameter of the hole through eachwhorl, varied from 2.6 mm in diameter to 3.7 mmfor a mean of 3.1 mm and a standard deviation of0.25 millimeters.

As mentioned above, all of the spindle whorlsfrom Pataraya are made of ceramic and were con-structed specifically for this purpose, as opposed tothe frequent modification of vessel fragments or otherexpended artifacts documented in other contexts. Theoverwhelming majority of the whorls were unbro-

ken. However, of those that are chipped or broken(n=37), 23 were made using a well-mixed paste withfew inclusions. The remaining were less well-mixed,with a high sand content. This matrix appears to bemore friable and may be overrepresented in the ma-terial analysis because more of these pieces wouldhave been broken and thus subjected to analysis. Withtwo notable exceptions (see below) all the whorls fromthe Pataraya collection were fired in a reducing at-mosphere; the majority (n=63) had a body color ofdark gray.

The most common shapes are teardrop (n=39),oval (n=22), and disk (n=13). Decoration is usuallyplaced on the upper surface of a whorl and consistsmost often of incised, painted, latitudinal lines(n=38). Sometimes these lines are cut into the bodyof the whorl in such a way as to create a step (e.g.,Figure 4 dd). Painted, incised steps are the secondmost common design motif (n=32). Painted designs,especially white ticks (e.g., Figure 4 b) and red andyellow dashes frequently elaborate the more generalpainted incised lines decoration (e.g., Figure 3 c’).Occasionally decoration is a good deal more com-plex, comprising incised circles, dots within circles,and alternating bands of longitudinal lines (e.g., Fig-ure 3 b), at times combined into rather complicatedoverall designs (e.g., Figure 4 cc). Red is by far themost common paint color (n=69), and is usually theonly color to appear alone, followed by white (n=34)and yellow (n=25). White and yellow paint are mostlikely to occur on whorls with red paint althoughyellow paint is almost as likely to occur with all threecolors as it is with red only. Only seven whorls arepainted with yellow and/or white without red.

Two spindle whorls are of noticeably differentconstruction and likely functioned somewhat differ-ently (Figure 3 j’ and Figure 4 hh). These whorls arerougher in construction, undecorated, and have asymmetrical, diamond shape. They were also fireddifferently, in an oxidizing rather than reducing at-mosphere. These two whorls were affixed to thickerspindles as well, having hole diameters almost 2.0mm wider than the average of the bulk of the collec-tion and about 1.0 mm wider than the next widestspindle hole diameter in the collection. Because ofthe small sample size not much else can be said about

99


these larger whorls, except to note that they are iden-tical to 13 spindle whorls found in Middle Horizonlevels at Jincamocco (see Schreiber 1992: 250). Theywere both found in contexts similar or identical tothe rest of the collection, although their low repre-sentation in the collection suggests that, whatevertheir technological or functional differences (use withdifferent fibers or a different plying technique aretwo possibilities) these were of relatively minor im-portance at Pataraya. A final extraordinarily heavywhorl nevertheless lies within the norm of the rest ofthe collection in all other measured characteristics,quantitative and qualitative (Figure 3 x).

Another small subcategory that could representa different artifact class altogether includes two nicelydecorated pieces with engraved and painted repre-sentations of human faces on them (Figure 3 kk andll). On one the face is more abstract and symmetri-cal (Figure 3 kk) while the other has a modeled noseand a headdress decorated with chevrons (Figure 3ll, also see Figure 5 for detailed view). Both faces arereminiscent of human facial representation on Viña-que style vessels, which were also found at Pataraya.These two items fall within the same range as therest of the spindle whorls in most characteristics butdiffer in their overall shape. They are also slightlythicker and the fanciest of these two (Figure 3 ll and5) has a much smaller diameter than the rest of thegroup—almost 3.0 mm smaller than the next small-est whorl. Therefore, while it is possible that theseitems are in fact decorative beads, they were never-theless manufactured in much the same way as thewhorls.

CONCLUSION

In the past, as in traditional Andean villages today,spinning fiber into thread for incorporation intowoven textiles was an ongoing, nearly ubiquitousactivity, engaged in alongside the other chores of dailylife. In the ethnographic context, John Murra de-scribes the “. . . standard, much quoted portrait ofthe never idle Andean peasant woman spinning end-lessly as she stood, sat, or even walked (1962: 711).”Guaman Poma’s famous drawings of pre- and post-

hispanic Andean life frequently illustrate young girls,women in their prime, and the elderly spinningthread as they go about other business. The spindlewhorls at Pataraya suggest that spinning was simi-larly woven into the fabric of daily life during theMiddle Horizon in the Nasca Valley.

Acknowledgments

The Pataraya-Ayacucho Archaeological Project, ofwhich this study is a part, is supported by a grantfrom the National Science Foundation (0612728)to Katharina Schreiber, and authorized in Peru bythe Instituto Nacional de Cultura. The 2007 fieldproject was directed by Schreiber and Ana CeciliaMauricio Llonto. Fieldwork was carried out withunflagging spirit by a great field crew with the fullsupport of the members of the community of Ron-quillo. Finally, this manuscript benefited greatly fromconversations with Christina A. Conlee and Kevin J.Vaughn. Many thanks are owed to these institutionsand individuals.

NOTES

1 Schreiber (2000) has suggested that this may be the sameroad that exits the Sondondo Valley toward the coast fromnear the Huari administrative site of Jincamocco and that theroad itself was first used by the Huari.

Figure 5. Detail of face design on decorative bead/spindle whorl. This artifact is also illustrated onFigure 3 ll.

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Ñawpa Pacha 29

2 Weight statistics include only complete whorls. All otherquantitative analyses include all specimens where that par-ticular characteristic could be measured.

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