Early prehispanic Peruvians were using indigo blue to dye fabric long ahead of Egyptians.
An ancient fabric discovered in Peru which is believed to be more than 6000 years old proves that early prehispanic Peruvians were using indigo blue to dye long ahead of Egyptians.
Huaca Prieta located on Peru’s north coast is the location where archaeologists discovered the ancient piece of fabric. It is believed that Huaca Prieta is an old ceremonial hill where ancient Peruvians existed 14,5000 to 4,000 years ago. Earlier indigo-dyed textiles were located in Egypt (though to be 1,500 years old) and in China (almost 3,000 years old).
A textile specialist at George Washington University, Jeffrey Splitstoster, mentioned that together with his colleagues they have unearthed more ancient fabrics at the site, and they have studied more than 800 of them. Splitstoster stated that this seems to be the oldest fabric dyed with indigo blue as he knows of.
The fabric has been preserved in an excellent state and its incomplete nature is because the material was in that condition prior to being discarded.
Splitstoser further said that the bits of fabric looked as if someone ripped them from a bigger piece of material. They also lead the impression that they were dipped in a liquid and twisted. Due to the materials size, specialists mentioned that they could have been used to carry objects and not for clothing. The method is believed to be similar to how individuals in the Andes used to put an object in the middle of the material to carry it.
Splitstoser said that it could be possible that people carried things to the temple where they would deposit the objects along with the fabric.
A chemist from the University College London, Jan Wouters, analyzed the indigo blue dye and concluded that it could be from Indigofera which was a plant utilized to produce the indigo dyes.
Nonetheless, Wouters is impressed by the ancient Peruvians capacity because, in order to extract the indigo color, they had to obtain the fermentation process. It could only mean that the individuals had not only the weaving fabric knowledge but also the experience to extract color too.
Splitstoser concluded that although we usually consider that the ancient people lacked the knowledge of understanding, they should have been very smart to survive in that time.
Image source: Wikipedia
