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Andean Archaeological Featherwork at the Milwaukee Public Museum

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Andean Archaeological Featherwork at the Milwaukee Public Museum University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations May 2014 Andean Archaeological Featherwork at the Milwaukee Public Museum: a Case Study in Researching Potential Context for Limited- provenience Artifacts Diane Kay Newbury University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, and the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation Newbury, Diane Kay, "Andean Archaeological Featherwork at the Milwaukee Public Museum: a Case Study in Researching Potential Context for Limited-provenience Artifacts" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 365. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/365 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ANDEAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL FEATHERWORK AT THE MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM: A CASE STUDY IN RESEARCHING POTENTIAL CONTEXT FOR LIMITED-PROVENIENCE ARTIFACTS by Diane Newbury A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Anthropology at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May 2014 ABSTRACT ANDEAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL FEATHERWORK AT THE MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM: A CASE STUDY IN RESEARCHING POTENTIAL CONTEXT FOR LIMITED-PROVENIENCE ARTIFACTS by Diane Newbury The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2014 Under the Supervision of Professor Jean Hudson The Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) has a collection of 134 archaeological Peruvian featherworked items accessioned in the last century with minimal provenience information. The collection is composed primarily of feather fans and ornamental devices with the remainder being sections of tunics and smaller apparel items. Due to the long- standing prevalence of grave looting in Peru and subsequent sale to collectors, many ancient Andean examples in modern museums are bereft of contextual information. Archaeological collections with limited excavation provenience may be viewed as having less research potential. However, the artifacts themselves may carry indications of their original context. As a result, limited-provenience collections can still be used to further our knowledge using a combination of research and analysis techniques. This thesis uses the following analytical approaches to study the MPM Peruvian archaeological featherwork collection: 1) literature review of relevant featherwork, textile, art history, and archaeological studies; 2) consultation with scholars and other experts; 3) grouping and categorizing the artifacts in the collection by structural commonalities; 4) detailed examination of the MPM artifacts’ raw materials and methods of construction; 5) comparison to extant featherwork collections in other museums; and ii 6) use of ethnographic and ethnohistorical studies of similar objects. Special emphasis and analysis is focused on the fans, plumes, and headdress pieces as these types of artifacts have received less attention in prior studies. iii Copyright by Diane Newbury, 2014 All Rights Reserved iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Featherworking................................................................................................................ 1 Research Problem Case Study Collection ....................................................................... 5 The Whyte Collection and Its Donors ........................................................................ 7 The Whyte Collection and Possible Origins ............................................................... 8 Goals of the Thesis ........................................................................................................ 10 Assumptions .................................................................................................................. 11 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 12 Thesis Organization....................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Background and Literature Review ................................................................ 14 Featherwork ................................................................................................................... 15 Pre-Columbian Andes Geography and Cultures ........................................................... 17 Pre-Columbian Textile Production................................................................................ 27 Featherworking Applied to Textiles .............................................................................. 30 Featherworked Non-Textile Decorative Objects........................................................... 34 Overview of Materials Used in Featherworking ........................................................... 37 Bird feathers .............................................................................................................. 37 Cotton ........................................................................................................................ 39 Plant Fibers Other than Cotton ................................................................................. 40 v Camelid Fiber or Wool ............................................................................................. 41 Animal Skin and Fur ................................................................................................. 41 Post-Conquest Materials ........................................................................................... 42 Studying Museum Collections ...................................................................................... 42 Collectors, Collections, and Museums...................................................................... 42 Museums and Cultural Property Laws ...................................................................... 44 Early Archaeology and Challenges to this Project ................................................... 47 Approaches to Studying Museum Collections .......................................................... 48 Background Summary ................................................................................................... 49 Chapter 3: Research Materials and Methods .................................................................... 51 Research Materials ........................................................................................................ 51 Research Methods ......................................................................................................... 53 Literature Review / Consultation with Experts ......................................................... 53 Artifact Description / Museum Visits ....................................................................... 54 Materials Identification ............................................................................................. 55 Structural Description ............................................................................................... 56 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................... 58 Chapter 4: Lines of Evidence Used in This Study ............................................................ 60 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 60 Textiles .......................................................................................................................... 60 vi Textiles: Raw Materials as Potential Provenience Indicators ....................................... 61 Textiles: Yarn Construction as Potential Provenience Indicator .................................. 63 Textiles: Weaving Construction as Potential Provenience Indicator ............................ 66 Textiles: Form and Function as Potential Provenience Indicator ................................. 70 Textiles: Other Potential Provenience Indicators .......................................................... 73 Colors ........................................................................................................................ 73 Iconography and Pattern ........................................................................................... 73 Feather Strings as Potential Provenience Indicators ................................................. 76 Non-Textile Decorative Objects: Fans, Plumes, Pins, and Headdresses ...................... 77 Non-Textile Decorative Objects: Construction Methods as Potential Provenience and/or Function Indicators ............................................................................................ 78 Non-Textile Decorative Objects: Imagery and Iconography as Potential Provenience and/or Function Indicators ............................................................................................ 78 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................... 82 Chapter 5: Featherworked Textiles – Results ................................................................... 83 Analysis of MPM Textiles ............................................................................................ 83 Tunics and Tabards
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