The Order of Things in Ancient Peru Visual Metaphors in Wari-Associated DWW Textiles

Two very different types of high status ritual textiles were produced with the use of the discontinuous warp and weft (hereafter DWW) technique during the Wari sojourn on the coast of Peru (ca. 600-800 C.E.): complex tie dyes, in which case the undyed cloth was woven in a DWW -based technique, and cloth woven in mUltiple techniques, wherein DWW is one of several weaves in a single textile.1 In all probability, both types of ritual cloth were created on the coast of Peru for use by the highland Wari culture and/or their coastal representatives.2 In the following paper, I will compare various technical and formal elements of these textiles in pursuit of Wari attitudes to their coastal neighbors. Such analyses add to the ongoing debate about Wari-coastal relations, traditionally based on ceramic distribution and architectural remains.