TEXTILE PRODUCTION IN POSTCLASSIC

Colonial chroniclers marveled at the quality and variety of textiles produced at the Postclassic center of Cholula. As a principal market center, textiles were produced for tribute and exchange, and other woven goods were manufactured for local consumption. This paper examines ethnohistorical and archaeological evidence to interpret the technology, materials, scale, and social relations of textile production. Original spindle-whorl data from the UA-1 domestic compound is contrasted with other whorls from Postclassic Cholula and from other sites in central Mexico. Results of this analysis indicate the complexity of pre-Columbian textile production and the significance of spinning and weaving in economic and social reconstructions of the past. As the Spanish conquistadores marched inland to Tenochtitlan, they were given many exotic gifts, including elaborate textiles of brightly colored cotton decorated with intricately woven designs and em-bellished with feathers and rabbit fur (Cortés 1986 [1519–1521]:45– 46; Figure 1). Cortés ’ detailed descriptions of these woven goods indicate his high regard for their quality; their inclusion among gold, jade, and other treasures implies that fine textiles were con-sidered a valued commodity by the indigenous people of Meso-america. Upon arriving at the religious center of Cholula, Cortés (1986 [1519–1521]:74–75) noted the richness of the city and its inhabitants. In reference to local costume, Cortés ’ secretary re-corded that: “they were better dressed than any Indians our men had thus far seen ” (López de Gómara 1964 [1552]:130). Due to the economic, ritual, and social importance of cloth in Mesoamerica, there has been growing interest in textile productio