@kenshirriff

I went looking for an old Nat.Geog. article that showed Navaho women actually making circuit boards for Fairchild Semiconductor, because they could remember the complex patterns.
But I think that was the 1970s article "The Computer", and what I still have is the 1982 issue on "The Chip", and it contributes this semi-relevant picture.
"Semi", because that's NOT a rug, but a model; it's how they had to review chip designs before you could do CAD zoom-ins.