Chancay River Valley Peruvian

Rows of geometric birds march across the width of this neatly woven wool and cotton loincloth end. This work, made centuries ago, descends from a long line of Andean weaving traditions that were among the finest and most complex of the ancient world. Makers living in the Chancay Valley in Peru’s Central Coast produced extraordinary weaving and ceramics. A record of Francisco Pizarro’s 1525 expedition, the first European written account of the region, marveled at “elaborately decorated and richly worked” textiles, among other treasures such as gold, silver, emeralds, and amber.