Spanish Use of Inca Textile Standards

Abstract

In the early colonial period, Spanish administration in the Andes required native groups to produce garments in standard sizes for both men and women. Each piece of clothing was actually a pair of garments for a man and a pair for a woman. In this paper the Spanish requirement is discussed and, in the case of the mens shirt, measurements given in the documents are compared with known examples of Inca shirts in museum collections. Because of the similarities in the measurements and for other reasons, it is probable that the Spanish exaction was based on Inca practice. References to Inca textile production are reviewed in a search for a precedent for the Spanish requirement.