Two weavers set up the warps on their loom in
Ayaviri, Puno, southern Peru. Anonymous. TAFOS
Photographic Archive/PUCP, Lima, Peru.Inca weavers produced cloth on one of three different types of looms: back-
strap, vertical/upright, or horizontal. The first two types are illustrated in
chronicler Guaman Poma de Ayala’s work which depicts Native weavers at
work, under the abusive hands of Colonial officials.
Back-strap looms are composed of distal and proximal header sticks to which
the warp threads are attached. The distal header stick is attached to an elevated
structure (tree, post, etc.), while the header stick nearest to the weaver carries a
strap that is passed around the back of the weaver and attached to both ends of
the header. The weaver leans forward or backward to apply the appropriate
amount of pressure on the warp threads as he/she passes the weft thread through
the warps. This type of loom is common even today in the Cuzco region, where