Feather Poncho

Nazca, 400-500 A.D. This parrot feather poncho was preserved for many centuries by the dry climate of the Nazca desert. The feathers, prized as trade items, came from birds that lived in the jungle beyond the Nazca region. Feathers, along with precious metals and other rare resources, were used as currency by the Inca and their predecessors. The Spanish Conquistadores who invaded Peru described storage facilities filled to the roof rafters with prized feathers. These storage facilities seem to have acted as a sort of repository, storing wealth to facilitate trade relations throughout the Empire. A wealthy individual could afford to make a beautiful garment like this out of these trade feathers. It would have been a treasured possession. This garment has been dated by the Carbon-14 method to approximately 400 A.D.