In the second half of the first millennium A.D., the Wari peoples of Peru exerted strong cultural and political influence over the southern coastal and highland regions from their capital city, also called Wari (a few miles northeast of present-day Ayacucho). They introduced a distinctive art style, found on fine polychrome ceramics, exquisite personal ornaments crafted of precious materials, expertly carved works in wood, shell, and stone, and especially on elaborate textiles.

The vividly colored tie-dyed tunics featuring purely geometric motifs were also highly valued. The complex process of production involved tightly bunching the fabric (it is lighter than tapestry-woven cloth), tying a yarn around the bunch, and immersing the fabric in dye. The fabric underneath the binding did not absorb the dye; releasing the tie revealed a motif in the original, lighter color, typically a hollow diamond or a circle, as seen in this example.