1
10
8
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
huipíl
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Chichicastenango
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Modern Guatemala
Threads of Time Item
This item type contains fields for the works in the Threads of Time exhibition.
Geographic Area
Central America, Guatemala, Chichicastenango
Culture
Maya
Date
Ca. 1945
Materials
Cotton, acrylic fiber
Credit Line
Bright Collection of Guatemalan Textiles
Accession Number
2009.42.105
Exhibition Checklist Number
This number will sort the collections.
312-01
Photo Credit
Photo by Michael McKelvey, 2017
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ceremonial <em>Huipíl</em> (Blouse)
Description
An account of the resource
Since ancient times, Maya women have worn a wide, rectangular blouse known as a <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><i>huipíl</i></span><i> </i>over a wrap-around skirt. This mid-20th century one comes from the famous market town of <span><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Chichicastenango</span>.</span><br /><br />A three-part <i>huipíl </i>such as this would have been worn on important occasions; the brocade on the top of each part section takes months to produce. The fine, snowy white cotton grows in this area, and throughout most the Americas, but the patterning threads come from a mixture of materials, such as the wool of sheep the Spanish introduced in the 16<sup>th</sup> century.<br /><br />In more recent examples acrylic yarns and synthetic dyes may be present; the Maya have always been open to incorporating bright colors and lasting materials into their festive wear.
Introduction
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
ayni
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ancient Peru
Threads of Time Item
This item type contains fields for the works in the Threads of Time exhibition.
Geographic Area
South America, Central Andes, Central Coast
Culture
Chimú
Date
Late Intermediate Period, ca. 1100-1470 AD
Materials
Cotton, camelid fiber
Credit Line
Gift in memory of John C. and Nora Wise
Accession Number
2002.8.1
Exhibition Checklist Number
This number will sort the collections.
312-02
Photo Credit
Photo by Bruce M. White, 2013
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Textile with Pelican Shaman
Description
An account of the resource
This brocaded cloth features a supernatural pelican-man. Still bright after over five hundred years, scarlet highlights the standing figure’s face and the many little pelicans that sit on his arms and emerge magically from/as his body. The two slightly different reds in the face area show that this textile was made in two parts later sewn together; this additive process was certainly not concealed. This piece was one of at least four matching panels (now held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art). The piecemeal assembly process was employed by the Chimú Empire, with different subjects involved in the production of a single luxury item given as tribute to royalty and elites. One person made one half of this piece, another the other, with the seam and the slight mismatch between the parts as evidence of their distinct contributions. In addition, showing the two parts combining to make a single figure embodies an important idea that runs through Andean culture and thought: <em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">ayni</span></em>, or the dualistic relationship of one part to another to make up a balanced whole. Two half-faces coming together, even if not perfectly, embodies this idea visually. Ayni is not only found in art, but is basic to human survival in the Andean environment, where reciprocal helping of others is the only way to thrive in the various altitudes and ecozones.
Introduction
-
http://threads-of-time.carlos.emory.edu/files/original/092e2818965afc79f5f46665214cb3c3.jpg
1f7f249d16d165e925be79363834fa00
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
dulemola
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Modern Panama
Threads of Time Item
This item type contains fields for the works in the Threads of Time exhibition.
Geographic Area
Central America, Guna Yala (San Blas Islands/North Coast of Panamá)
Culture
Guna
Date
Late 20th century
Materials
Cotton
Credit Line
Anonymous gift
Accession Number
2003.40.188
Exhibition Checklist Number
This number will sort the collections.
312-03
Photo Credit
Photo by Bruce M. White, 2012
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Dulemola</em> (Blouse Panel) with Women in European Skirts
Description
An account of the resource
<p>The modern and contemporary women of the north coast and offshore islands of Panamá, the Guna (previously Cuna or Kuna), incorporated the European scissors and machine-made cloth in the 19th century to make a remarkable new “traditional” blouse. It mixes European-style gathered sleeves and yoke with a unique type of “cut-work” in which layers of cloth are pierced to reveal many colors and create intricate designs. Such a blouse, and the cutwork panel itself, is known in the Guna language as a <span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><i>dulemola</i></span>.</span></p>
<p>The <i>dulemola</i> panels in this blouse feature two women dancing together; however, they are not shown wearing the traditional Guna wrap-around skirt, but rather flaring European-style ones. It becomes clear that there are many levels to the interaction of local Guna and imposed outsider influences in these supremely creative compositions.</p>
Introduction
-
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45bfe382720b7a5d9c20fa088f253e66
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
khipu
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ancient Peru
Threads of Time Item
This item type contains fields for the works in the Threads of Time exhibition.
Geographic Area
South America, Central Andes, Central Coast
Culture
Inka
Date
Late Horizon, ca. 1430-1534 AD
Materials
Cotton
Credit Line
Ex coll. C. Clay and Virginia Aldridge
Accession Number
2002.1.130
Exhibition Checklist Number
This number will sort the collections.
312-04
Photo Credit
Photo by Bruce M. White, 2016
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Polychrome <em>Khipu</em> (Knot Writing Device)
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Writing—recording information in a format that others at the time and later can decipher—was accomplished by the Inka Empire of South America using thousands of knotted string devices known as <i><span style="text-decoration:underline;">khipu</span></i>. In the Carlos collection there are two other examples of the knot writing (<a href="/items/show/51">multi</a>- and <a href="/items/show/50">single-strand</a>) that helped the Inka conquer more than 3,000 miles of territory and twelve million subjects in less than a century (1428–1534 AD).</p>
<p>In this <i>khipu</i>, the main horizontal cord is read from left to right. As in Western mathematics, the Inka used a base-ten numerical system. Hanging down from the main cord are variously colored pendant cords with different types of knots arranged in registers. These record numbers, here the largest being “160” and the smallest “1” (see attached diagram file). Numbers can and were used primarily as codes—much like the binary code of 0’s and 1’s in modern computers—to delineate many types of information.</p>
<p>Though the Spanish never learned to read <i>khipu</i>, they did record that the Inka used them to record the amount of food in storehouses, census data, tribute, history, astronomy, and even poetry. While scholars are still working on the existing 850 examples of <i>khipu </i>to decipher their meanings, new archaeological findings include some <i>khipu </i>piled on top of maize kernels and others on top of beans, providing a tantalizing clue that may begin to unravel the way in which the Inka used threads to record various kinds</p>
<p> </p>
Introduction
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Description
An account of the resource
Only a small sample is needed for fiber microscopy and dating.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Photo courtesy of Renée Stein
Subject
The topic of the resource
Single-Strand <em>Khipu</em> Wrapping Detail
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Description
An account of the resource
Only a small sample is needed for fiber microscopy and dating.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Photo courtesy of Renée Stein
Subject
The topic of the resource
Single-Strand <em>Khipu</em> Dating Sample
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
khipu
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ancient Peru
Threads of Time Item
This item type contains fields for the works in the Threads of Time exhibition.
Geographic Area
South America, Central Andes
Culture
Inka/Neo-Inka
Date
Late Horizon/Early Colonial, ca. 1508-1652 AD
Materials
Plant fiber (<em>furcraea andina</em>)
Credit Line
Ex coll. C. Clay and Virginia Aldridge
Accession Number
2002.1.40
Exhibition Checklist Number
This number will sort the collections.
312-05
Technical Notes
Related notes on the object's conservation and treatment by Michael C. Carlos Museum objects conservator Renée Stein.
<p>The single strand <i>khipu</i> measures approximately 2-3 millimeters in diameter and is constructed from a 2-ply bundled cord, which is wrapped with an additional bundled cord, which includes occasional blue fibers. Conservator Ashley Jehle examined small samples of these blue fibers using a polarizing light microscope and characterized them as animal fibers. The deteriorated condition of the scale pattern prevented identification of the species, which is likely to be camelid, given the date. Small samples from the bundled cord and wrapping fibers were sent to Dr. Simon Lægaard of Aarhus University in Denmark. Using microscopy techniques, Dr. Lægaard identified both as leaf fibers from <i>Furcraea Andina</i>, as identified in the <a href="/items/show/1">Feather Fan</a>. Jehle also sent approximately 0.01g of plant fiber from the <i>khipu</i> to The Center for Applied Isotope Studies at the University of Georgia, Athens for radiocarbon (C-14) analysis by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and stable isotope ratio analysis. Dr. Alexander Cherkinsky reported the calibrated date as between 1508-1652 CE. <br /><br /></p>
<p>For more conservation information, please see <a href="/exhibits/show/conservation/project">The Threads of Time Conservation Project</a>.</p>
<p></p>
Photo Credit
Photo by Bruce M. White, 2011
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Single-Strand <em>Khipu</em> (Knot Writing Device)
Description
An account of the resource
<p>A writing device—fulfilling the communicative purpose of recording and transmitting knowledge among trained individuals over time—the Inka <i><span style="text-decoration:underline;">khipu</span> </i>can take a number of forms (a <a href="/items/show/51">mono</a>- and <a href="/items/show/49">polychrome</a> example). In the ways that a handwritten poem and a printed technical manual differ, textile writing, too, was adaptable to a wide range of uses and audiences in Inka times.</p>
<p>The odd plant-fiber strand with unusual knots, has been scientifically dated to between 1508 and 1652 AD; therefore, it is an authentic Inka-to-early-Colonial object. Yet, unlike other <i>khipu</i>, it is entirely made of strands of <i>Furcreae andina</i>, a succulent whose stringy leaves can be made into fiber objects. Comprising only one cord, rather than a main cord with others hanging from it, makes it unique as well. Furthermore, the knots are made backwards.</p>
<p>All these strange features defy exact explanation, but its possible date, as late as 1652, may indicate that in the first century after the Inka downfall writing had changed dramatically without their strict control over communication. Clearly shifts in almost every aspect of the <i>khipu </i>had taken place soon after the Spanish takeover.</p>
Introduction
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c317731d7578e427c1a2c3e12ba56803
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Description
An account of the resource
Textile Conservator Patricial Ewer stitched each of the 220 pendant cords of this <em>khipu</em> to a wrapped support board.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Photo courtesy of Renée Stein
http://threads-of-time.carlos.emory.edu/files/original/c0dedfb496ef0ee01ed40c3a42b4ec17.jpg
3f9eb8fdd5e595621b5554cc6d8f5adb
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Description
An account of the resource
Boards made from aluminum panel or archival cardboard are padded and wrapped in cotton cloth.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Photo courtesy of Renée Stein
http://threads-of-time.carlos.emory.edu/files/original/10e93d8a770fbf62f1b5b95872d78e5c.jpg
217b207de6ceed1acc898637a716ae5e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Image courtesy of the Royal Library, Copenhagen
Subject
The topic of the resource
Drawing by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala of the Inka ruler (left) being shown the accounts of the storehouses’ contents by a royal accountant or <em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">khipukamayok</span> </em>(right).
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
khipu
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ancient Peru
Threads of Time Item
This item type contains fields for the works in the Threads of Time exhibition.
Geographic Area
South America, Central Andes
Culture
Inka/Neo-Inka
Date
Early Colonial ca. 1489-1652 AD
Materials
Cotton
Credit Line
Ex coll. C. Clay and Virginia Aldridge
Accession Number
2002.1.118
Exhibition Checklist Number
This number will sort the collections.
312-06
Technical Notes
Related notes on the object's conservation and treatment by Michael C. Carlos Museum objects conservator Renée Stein.
<p>This <em>khipu</em> was completely stitched to a fabric-covered board in order to align and fully support each element. Small fragile fragments, such as the <a href="/items/show/44">Wari-related tapestry fragment</a>, were also fully stitched to wrapped boards. The secondary support board is a lightweight aluminum panel, padded with a layer of polyester batting and then covered with the cotton display cloth. When possible, objects were only stitched along one edge to permit viewing of the reverse. The stitched fragments will remain on the boards for future storage, examination, and display. Less fragile objects were temporarily placed on wrapped boards for this exhibition. These supports are made from archival corrugated and foam-core boards, padded and wrapped as the aluminum panels. <br /><br /></p>
<p>For more conservation information, please see <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><a href="/exhibits/show/conservation/project">The Threads of Time Conservation Project</a></span>.</p>
Photo Credit
Photo by Bruce M. White, 2011
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Decimal <em>Khipu</em> (Knot Writing Device)
Description
An account of the resource
<p>It may seem odd that the distinctively Inka mode of writing in knotted threads would survive the Spanish invasion and colonization. Indeed, in 1581 the <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><i>khipu</i></span><i> </i>was officially outlawed, although its use went underground and has not completely disappeared to this day. The large yet still fragmentary example very likely dates to the early colonial times, according to a Carbon-14 date that places it between 1489 and 1652 AD.</p>
<p>While it still could predate the 1534 conquest, a number of unusual features in comparison to solidly Inka ones (<a href="/items/show/50">a single-strand</a> and a <a href="/items/show/49">polychrome</a>) strongly suggest it post-dates the Inka Empire. This one records only the numbers between 1 and 5, unlike the classic <i>khipu </i>with numbers as high as 160 at far right. Its main cord has been cut in two places which would never have been done in ancient times; cutting thread or cloth was considered to be breaking its life force and disrespecting its integrity. These features suggest that this example is a later, simpler version of knot writing, as it was changing under the Spanish (who certainly cut cloth to tailor their clothing).</p>
Introduction
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
dulemola
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2601fd73f5498940e8e10b8e8053b04c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Paliwiduru
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Modern Panama
Threads of Time Item
This item type contains fields for the works in the Threads of Time exhibition.
Geographic Area
<p>Central America, Guna Yala (San Blas Islands/North Coast of Panamá)</p>
Culture
Guna
Date
Early 21st century
Materials
Cotton
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Accession Number
2013.42.2
Exhibition Checklist Number
This number will sort the collections.
312-07
Catalogue Entry
Catalogue entry for the object
<p>Writing is incorporated into this contemporary cut-and-sewn <i><span style="text-decoration:underline;">dulemola</span></i> made by the Guna people from the northern coast and Caribbean islands off Panamá. In the top center a version of the letters “IHS” can be seen, the monogram abbreviated from IHΣΟΥΣ, Greek for “Jesus.” However, it is important to note that the Christogram is shown backwards. The other imagery in this piece helps to explain why this might be so. Although they may look like Christian angels, the two winged, kneeling figures flanking the letters also have eagle heads and deer antlers. The Guna call these spiritual beings <i><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Paliwiduru</span></i> and they believe that they call the soul of the recently deceased out of his or her body, instructing it on how to begin its afterlife journey. Thus, the artist of this piece has combined Christian elements with those of the ongoing indigenous religion.</p>
<p>The letters for Jesus, whom the missionaries have told the Guna they will meet after death, are probably shown reversed to indicate that the scene with the <i>Paliwiduru</i> is taking place on the Other Side, in the Land of the Dead. In indigenous American cosmology, the afterlife is a reversed realm relative to the world of the living. Since the scene is looking from the point of view of “the Beyond,” the name of Jesus is written backwards. Although the missionaries and colonists imposed their system of writing and religion on the Guna, indigenous people incorporated it into their pre-existing worldview. European-style letters, and angels in Heaven are eclipsed by the overriding traditional concept of the <i>Paliwiduru</i>.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Dulemola</em> (Women's Blouse Panel) with <em>Paliwiduru</em> (Eagle Spirits)
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Writing is incorporated into this contemporary cut-and-sewn <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><i>dulemola</i></span> made by the Guna people from the northern coast and Caribbean islands off Panamá. In the top center a version of the letters “IHS” can be seen, the monogram abbreviated from IHΣΟΥΣ, Greek for “Jesus.” However, it is important to note that the Christogram is shown backwards. The other imagery in this piece helps to explain why this might be so. Although they may look like Christian angels, the two winged, kneeling figures flanking the letters also have eagle heads and deer antlers. The Guna call these spiritual beings <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><i>Paliwiduru</i></span> and they believe that they call the soul of the recently deceased out of his or her body, instructing it on how to begin its afterlife journey. Thus, the artist of this piece has combined Christian elements with those of the ongoing indigenous religion.</p>
<p>The letters for Jesus, whom the missionaries have told the Guna they will meet after death, are probably shown reversed to indicate that the scene with the <i>Paliwiduru</i> is taking place on the Other Side, in the Land of the Dead. In indigenous American cosmology, the afterlife is a reversed realm relative to the world of the living. Since the scene is looking from the point of view of “the Beyond,” the name of Jesus is written backwards. Although the missionaries and colonists imposed their system of writing and religion on the Guna, indigenous people incorporated it into their pre-existing worldview. European-style letters, and angels in Heaven are eclipsed by the overriding traditional concept of the <i>Paliwiduru</i>.</p>
Introduction
-
http://threads-of-time.carlos.emory.edu/files/original/6808c3aabc780ee43cb0ad50443a4c58.jpg
9daeb577baa600aa3f6335c01ea19195
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Modern Guatemala
Threads of Time Item
This item type contains fields for the works in the Threads of Time exhibition.
Geographic Area
Central America, Guatemala, Totonicapán
Culture
Maya
Materials
Cotton
Credit Line
Bright Collection of Guatemalan Textiles
Accession Number
2009.42.13
Exhibition Checklist Number
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312-08
Date
20th century
Catalogue Entry
Catalogue entry for the object
<p>When indigenous Americans were forced to adapt to European ways, one of the most novel ones was alphabetic writing. In a famous incident, Bishop Diego de Landa attempted to make a Maya scribe write their “alphabet” by saying the names of letters in Spanish: “ah” for “a,” “bay” for “b,” etc. Since the Maya mainly drew glyphs for words or for syllables, the poor scribe did his best to translate the strange request. In Mayan “ah” was the word for water, so he drew that hieroglyph, and so on. Both parties finally stopped in frustration, the scribe adding a sentence of complaint at the bottom “I don’t want to do this anymore.” Though the experiment in cross-cultural communication seemed a failure at the time, this table of glyphs and his comment actually helped modern scholars decipher the Maya hieroglyphic system beginning in the 1960s.</p>
<p>Centuries later, this Maya textile ingeniously incorporates Western words, now a prestigious appropriation of the foreign writing. In strings that were tied-dyed before they were woven, quite a technical and design feat, the weaver has spelled out a name: Mateo Yax. Mateo is Spanish for Matthew, while Yax is a time period in the Maya solar calendar (January 22–February 10). Individuals born during this time are considered gentle, peaceful, and harmonious. Thus, this man’s name blends the new and the old, a man living in the ex-colony of Spain and sharing a first name with the colonizers, yet simultaneously claiming ancient and ongoing Maya heritage. The surname being Maya links him to his origins through his father’s line, the way descent was claimed in both the ancient Maya and modern Spanish worlds. The weaver, most likely a woman, created this extraordinary cross-cultural mix of writing and ideas to celebrate a man between two worlds.</p>
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Title
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<em>Servilleta</em> (Napkin) Inscribed with Mateo Yax’s Name
Introduction