Chachapoya Textiles: The Laguna de los Cóndores Textiles in the Museo Leymebamba, Chachapoyas, Peru

In 1996 more than two hundred mummies and skeletal remains accompanied by a rich array of burial offerings were discovered at a cliff side burial site overlooking Laguna de los Cóndores in the cloud forest of Chachapoyas. In spite of the humid climate in this remote corner of Peru’s northeastern Andes, many of the organic remains, including textiles, were extraordinarily well preserved. The textiles are today stored or exhibited at the Museo Leymebamba. The find includes the best preserved and largest cache of Chachapoya textiles known to date, providing researchers with a unique opportunity to learn about little-known Chachapoya weaving techniques, iconography, style, politics, and trade connections, mostly from the Chachapoya-Inca period, ca. 1470–1532. This richly illustrated volume studies forty-five selected textiles, both burial offerings and mummy bundle wrappings, with chapters on Chachapoya iconography, culture,and quipus (talking knots), as well as a description of the project launched to rescue the finds and the construction of the Museo Leymebamba.