https://collections.carlos.emory.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/49394/fullMantle Fragment with Hummingbird Bordersca. 100-200 CE8 x 17 3/4 in. (20.3 x 45.1 cm)Camelid fiber, natural dyesEx coll. C. Clay and Virginia Aldridge2002.001.0030Small samples (approximately 2mm) from the green and purple threads were analyzed using Direct Analysis in Real Time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) by the Armitage Archaeological Chemistry Research Group at Eastern Michigan University. These colors were achieved by mixing indigo with a second dye. In addition to indigotin from indigo, the mass spectrum of the green yarn showed evidence of a flavonoid, either luteolin or fisetin, and its methyl ether; these compounds are found in a variety of different yellow dyes known to have been used in South America, including chilca (or ch'illka in Quechua, a yellow dye obtained from the leaves of <i>Baccharis</i> species). Analysis of the purple thread revealed indigotin from indigo along with several anthraquinone compounds (purpurin, rubiadin, and xanthopurpurin) that are indicative of <i>Relbunium</i>, a flowering plant in the <i>Rubiaceae</i> family that was used for red dye.Art of the Americas5404768984