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5.1. LILA M. O’NEALE Guatemala Textile Investigations YB 35:136–138, 1936 It is unlikely, because of climatic conditions, that any representative group of textiles or other perishable materials dating from pre-Colombian periods in Guatemala will ever be recovered. It is, therefore, chiefly inferences based on surviving fundamental techniques that the artistry and the very evident technical skill of the old weavers as shown in the carvings must be interpreted . There are no such elaborate costumes extant today as were worn in the prehistoric periods, but unless new tools and obviously introduced devices be found, it seems reasonable to believe that some of the ancient methods of making fabrics are still in use. The investigation carried on by Dr. O’Neale during the first half of the year had the following objectives : to visit the highland centers of weaving; to study the methods of producing cloth from native and imported materials; to study the use of simple sticks and more or less crudely shaped tools; to analyze the seemingly complex techniques in terms of skills with which those tools have been adapted to variety of pattern requirements. Mat-making and basketry were arbi5 .0. T extiles 259 trarily eliminated, as fabrications of materials which do not require spinning. The methods of gaining data and information were direct. If possible, the market of a center was visited several times. Whenever details of clinical interest or of patterning were noted, efforts were made to find men who knew how to weave the specific features shown by the fabric. Special orders involving the duplication of the features were then given usually with the stipulation that they were to be executed in the presence the investigator. The general territory covered may briefly be characterized by centers: 1. The Guatemala City-Antigua area: This district represents artistic rather than technical diversity. The typical patterning depends upon some of broadcasting , in the main. 2. The Tecpán area: The costumes from several smaller centers show techniques ranging from heavy brocading to sketchy embroidery. In the two areas mentioned there is an increasing amount of work T H E C A R N E G I E M A Y A 260 TEXTILES being done by professional weavers of certain villages. The logical development out of a tendency toward specialization seems to be the purchase of factory materials and complete independence of the product of hand looms. Most of the Indian men’s costumes have reached the point where the banda or sash is the sole remnant of hand weaving. 3. The Lake Atitlán area: The costumes in this part of the highlands are simple, the techniques are fundamental , and the conventional pattern entails little in the way of individual ingenuity. 4. The Chichicastenango area: Here the complexity of the standard designs woven in silk, wool, or cotton by the woman, and the elaborate embroidery in silk on heavy home-spun black wool garments by the men are the main features of the textiles. The men’s work, because still done for themselves, remains of higher quality, in general, than the women’s weaving which has noticeably deteriorated during the last two years. This is an expectable result of a demand for trade products in primitive communities. 5. The Momostenango area: This is the region celebrated for its work in wools, its dyeing with natural dyes, weaving in fundamental as well as eccentric patterns, and felting. While the spinning and weaving are done almost entirely with appliances derived from Europe, dyeing and felting are still accomplished by simple methods known to be used by primitive craftsmen in other parts of the world. 6. The Quezaltenango-Salcajá-Totonicapán area: From the standpoint of methods and production, this area is unusually rich. There are still a number of small pueblos in which all the materials for the women’s huipiles, and even some of the men’s garments, are made on back-strap looms. There are, too, in this district, masses of materials made on foot-power hand looms, and on draw looms like those which preceded the Jacquard. In addition to the hand-loom products, there are the increasingly available materials coming steadily from the modern factory at Cantel. Salcajá supplies a large percentage of all the skirts which have patterns in tied and dyed yarns. Embroidery is done professionally by women, especially those of San Cristóbal Totonicapán. 7. The San Pedro Sacatepéquez (Departamento de San Marcos) area: This center...

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