More Testing of Mesoamerican Lunate Artifacts as Possible Loom Weights, that also Functioned as Twining Tools

Abstract

In previous replication studies and experiments, a lunate jade artifact from the Pre-Classic/Formative period (1500 BC-AD 250) of Mesoamerica was analysed, researched, and tested for its similarities to the crescent weight, a specialized type of loom weight found in ancient Central and Southern Europe. These analyses successfully established that even a form of this artifact made of wood, shell, or other common, everyday materials would have served effectively as a loom weight that was comparable in form and function to the European crescent weight for warp-weighted weaving looms; in addition, further experiments showed that this artifact, and the European crescent weights, can effectively and efficiently be used to create different types of sheds for weaving both basic and more complex textile patterns, greatly reducing the need to use a pick or batten to lift individual warp threads or the need for complex groups of heddles. In this current project, further replication studies serve as a pragmatic method for testing the lunate artifacts as specialized weights for twining on warp-weighted looms. The efficacy of the artifacts for warp twining and for weft twining is tested using methodologies that were developed to test the function of the European crescent weights. Also explored are new possibilities for the practical applications of these types of weights as specialized twining tools.

Keywords

• textile
• chalcolithic
• guatemala
• mexico
• bronze age
• loom