Max Uhle’s Field Notes and Textile Collections from Chimu Capac, Supe Valley, Peru; Style and Cultural Affiliation During the Early and Late Middle Horizon

Abstract

In 1904 Max Uhle excavated Chimu Capac in the Supe Valley, Peru. He sent the collections with a catalog and report to Phoebe Apperson Hearst and the University of California, Berkeley, but he did not include his Supe field Notebook 67. The catalog listed six partial tomb lots. This article presents an English translation of Uhle’s field notebook that lists 320 objects found in 28 graves. The article focuses on the 87 textiles from the first graves and compares a portion to the larger collection of over 253 ceramics, sculpted and painted wood, and 287 textiles. The collection includes ceramics and textiles from Late Moche, Wari, and Wari-associated styles. The Casma style is represented in local, plain-woven cloth and the group of 155 painted textiles. This analysis identifies Middle Horizon textiles from different regions and different periods and indicates a strong stylistic connection between Casma and Chimu Capac in the representation of the celestial god.