A Visual Method to Compare the Quality and Complexity of Archaeological Textiles: The Cotton Mantas of Pre-Hispanic Colombia

Abstract

Concepts such as cost, value, skill, complexity, and quality are central to archaeological interpretations of material culture, yet often they remain undefined, resulting in subjective and inconsistent analyses. This is particularly true in archaeological textile studies, where technological complexity, cost, and craftsmanship are frequently underexplored or assessed informally. This paper proposes a formal method for evaluating and comparing the production of archaeological textiles, using complexity and quality as proxies for skill and cost. Drawing on sociology, economics, and material culture studies, we argue that value is context-dependent, shaped by both intrinsic properties of objects and cultural frameworks. Skill involves embodied knowledge and culturally informed standards of what constitutes a ‘well-made’ artefact. To operationalise these concepts, we integrate the chaîne opératoire with a colour-coded matrix and comparative diagrams inspired by Kuijpers’ work on metallurgical skill (2018b, 2018c). These visual tools enhance transparency, interpretation, and reproducibility across case studies. We apply this method to five types of pre-Hispanic cotton mantas woven by the Muisca and Guane of Colombia’s Eastern Highlands, and a further comparative set from the southern Nariño department. The analysis identifies both shared and variable features that reflect differences in complexity, quality, and labour investment. Correlations among variables reveal forms of labour organisation and social constraints. Our visualisation tools highlight patterns within and across textile assemblages. By making the technical aspects explicit, this formal approach enables better comparison, reduces bias, and fosters more nuanced understandings of craft organisation, skilled labour and complexity in past technologies. (For an extended summary of this paper in Spanish, see Supplementary Materials).