"The core of this book is an ethnographic account of the textiles and their place in daily life that considers how the form and content of Quechua patterns and designs convey stories and preserve traditions as well as how the ritual uses of textiles sustain a sense of community and a connection to the past. Heckman concludes by assessing the influences of the global economy on indigenous Quechua, who maintain their own worldview within the larger fabric of twentieth-century cultural values and hence have survived everything from Latin American militarism to a tidal wave of post-modern change."--Jacket.