Document Actions

About the Project

Weaving Communities of Practice involved archaeological, anthropological, and historical research into museum collections in Bolivia, Peru, Chile and the UK.

The research was carried out in consultation with contemporary weavers in order to develop a comprehensive study of weaving traditions and techniques from the Middle Horizon period (600-1000 CE)  to the present.

The project  focussed on three main cultural sites: Inca (Cusco, La Paz, Killakas), Tiwanaku (Chilean and Peruvian coast), and Yampara (San Pedro de Atacama to the of Santa Cruz).

The process of information collection, methods, and analysis was coordinated through a series of workshops, involving members of the project team and curators of European and Latin American museum collections.

Read more

  • The project aimed to improve knowledge of Andean textiles in museum collections, based on:
    • Systematisation of the practical procedures of recording and documenting textiles
    • Ontological modelling of textile data, allowing a wider range of questions to be asked
    • Identification and systematisation of textile structures and techniques according to the weavers' point of view
    • Development of software programmes for the documentation of textile structures, techniques and iconography, with special reference to the 3D nature of cloth
  • The project was also designed to benefit other practitioners and users, especially in the Andean region:
    • By enabling textile producers to better document textile structures and techniques in order to improve the management of cultural heritage
    • By promoting greater awareness of textiles as part of national and world heritage
    • By providing Andean countries with secondary-level educational materials