Wow... Best get saving

given that it was made in 1400ad from a mixture of human hair and llama wool - it's remarkably well preserved.

Also curious where it's been the last 600 years. Grave goods maybe ?

I'm leaning towards reproduction, just don't see how something that old could be so well preserved.

If everyone sends the money to me I'll be sure to keep it safe...

Google translation of Jaegoor's post:

"Then I bend myself one. The pattern I can braid. Give me your hair?"

According to http://ancientincareligion.weebly.com/rituals.html, Inca warriors practiced two types of ritual cannibalism:

'Exocannibalism' and 'Endocannibalism'. 'Exocannibalism was a form that involved eating the flesh of an enemy to prove one's power, to finalize the humiliation of the defeated foe and to take revenge on their companions. 'Endocannibalism' was a lot more respectful. The dead persons bones would be ground into dust and mixed into a manioc to be drunk by the family and other relatives to preserve within the kinship groups the essence of the dead.

From this, I will guess that the hair in the sling was not freely given, but rather a spoil of war.

Compared to many other examples of South American slings I've seen in museum collections, it doesn't look like it would necessarily be a reproduction. I've seen some examples in better condition than that one. One reason so many slings and fragile artifacts have survived from the Incas and other pre-columbian South American civilizations is that they were included in mummy bundles buried in dry desert regions where nothing decays very much.

For comparison, check out this collection from the American Museum of Natural History: https://anthro.amnh.org/textile. Search for "sling"; most of the results are from pre-columbian South America.

-Timothy Potter

What is special about this sling? Uwe once took photos in a museum archive. There are thousands of such artifacts. Many are not treated very well. Which I personally find unbelievable. Many of these slings had ritual significance. Their patterns also often had a meaning. Much has been lost. But many rituals are better left unremembered. They were cruel And contemptuous of humanity

Jaegoor wrote on Oct 5^th, 2024 at 1:49am:

As a sling, I don't think anything more than any other sling.  But I think there is an interest in seeing design aspects of a historic sling (that aren't just a drawing with no real details).  Also just to see a 600 year old sling is pretty amazing.  I didn't see this topic before.  It looks like CA was pretty skeptical.  I certainly don't have any expertise to guess either way.


Jaegoor wrote on Oct 5^th, 2024 at 1:49am:

I agree with this.