Inka Khipus, Thread Wrappings and Subject Markers

This work aims to contribute to our current understanding of how information was organized in khipus, Andean colourful knotted cords used as writing. If the idea that khipu signs could work as a flow chart was common in the last two decades, it is not until the notion of kayte as subject marker was elaborated by Sabine Hyland on the basis of Julio C. Tello\u27s notes that the theory could be discussed on more empirical grounds. So far, the term “kayte” applied to needlework bundles, pompons or tufts attached to the beginning of the primary cord. In this work, the notion will be expanded to thread wrapped segments on Inka-style khipus. To this point, the discussion on the presence of thread wrappings on khipus has been predominantly relegated to Wari khipus, khipus understood to be outside the Inka standard, or post-Inka idiosyncratic “canuto” khipus. Here, thread wrapping present on the primary cord of Inka style khipus will be discussed as a possible specific type of kayte – or subject marker. Consulting literature on Andean thread wrapping technology, thread wrapped kaytes are proposed to be indicators of content related to personhood or territory. Este trabajo pretende contribuir a nuestra comprensión actual de cómo se organizaba la información en los quipus, una tecnología andina de cuerdas coloradas y anudadas utilizada como escritura. Si la idea de que los signos en el quipu podrían funcionar como un diagrama de flujo era común en las últimas dos décadas, no es hasta que Sabine Hyland, a partir de las notas de Julio C. Tello, elaborò la nocion de kayte como marcador de sujeto de que la teoría podía discutirse sobre bases más empíricas. Hasta aquel momento, la palabra “kayte” se aplicaba a mechones de costura, o pompones atados al inicio del cordón primario. En este trabajo, la noción de kayte o marcador semántico se ampliará para incluir cuerdas envueltas en quipus de estilo Inca. Hasta este punto, la discusión sobre la presencia de cuerdas envueltas en los khipus se ha relegado predominantemente a los quipus Huari, quipus entendidos como fuera del estándar Inca, o quipus idiosincráticos “canuto” post-Incaicos . Aquí se considerarán las cuerdas envueltas presente en el cordón principal de los quipus de estilo Inca como un posible tipo específico de kayte o marcador de sujeto. En comparación con la literatura sobre la tecnología andina de cuerdas envueltas, se propone que los kaytes de cuerdas envueltas sean indicadores de contenido relacionado con la personalidad o el territorio

Heritage science contribution to the understanding of meaningful khipu colours

Funding: Financial support by the Access to Research Infrastructures activity in the Horizon 2020 Programme of the EU (IPERION HS Grant Agreement n.871034) is gratefully acknowledged.This work is the first scientific study of khipu dyes and inorganic mordants and auxiliaries, paving the way for a new approach to understanding khipus’ meaningful materiality, technology, and colours. Khipus have usually been described as “Andean knotted records”, but they are much more than complex knotted cords: a great part of the information encoded resides in khipus’ incredible colours. The objects of this study are two Wari khipus, 1932.08.0001 and 1932.08.0002, now at the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, Sweden. After a morphological study of the khipus, the objects were imaged with multiband imaging (MBI) as an aid for the sampling decisional process. The khipus were then analysed non-invasively by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy on selected areas of particular interest. The khipus were consequently sampled for elemental characterisation by micro-XRF, and liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC–HRMS) for characterising the organic dye composition. This paper presents a part of the results of the project “Meaningful materials in the khipu code”, with the intent to shed light on the difficulties and possibilities of investigating khipu colours and dyestuffs. MBI and XRF revealed unforeseeable structural characteristics, such as remnants from a heavily degraded thread in an area of missing thread wrapping and a dual-coloured thread that was previously deemed single-coloured. The organic dyes identified by HPLC–HRMS comprised indigoids, cochineal, and an unknown flavonoid-based dyestuff. XRF of the inorganic components revealed associations of several elements with specific colours.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Inka Khipus, Thread Wrappings and Subject Markers

This work aims to contribute to our current understanding of how information was organized in khipus, Andean colourful knotted cords used as writing. If the idea that khipu signs could work as a flow chart was common in the last two decades, it is not until the notion of kayte as subject marker was elaborated by Sabine Hyland on the basis of Julio C. Tello's notes that the theory could be discussed on more empirical grounds. So far, the term “kayte” applied to needlework bundles, pompons or tufts attached to the beginning of the primary cord. In this work, the notion will be expanded to thread wrapped segments on Inka-style khipus. To this point, the discussion on the presence of thread wrappings on khipus has been predominantly relegated to Wari khipus, khipus understood to be outside the Inka standard, or post-Inka idiosyncratic “canuto” khipus. Here, thread wrapping present on the primary cord of Inka style khipus will be discussed as a possible specific type of kayte – or subject marker. Consulting literature on Andean thread wrapping technology, thread wrapped kaytes are proposed to be indicators of content related to personhood or territory

Inka khipus, thread wrappings and subject markers

This work aims to contribute to our current understanding of how information was organized in khipus, Andean colourful knotted cords used as writing. If the idea that khipu signs could work as a flow chart was common in the last two decades, it is not until the notion of kayte as subject marker was elaborated by Sabine Hyland on the basis of Julio C. Tello's notes that the theory could be discussed on more empirical grounds. So far, the term “kayte” applied to needlework bundles, pompons or tufts attached to the beginning of the primary cord. In this work, the notion will be expanded to thread wrapped segments on Inka-style khipus. To this point, the discussion on the presence of thread wrappings on khipus has been predominantly relegated to Wari khipus, khipus understood to be outside the Inka standard, or post-Inka idiosyncratic “canuto” khipus. Here, thread wrapping present on the primary cord of Inka style khipus will be discussed as a possible specific type of kayte – or subject marker. Consulting literature on Andean thread wrapping technology, thread wrapped kaytes are proposed to be indicators of content related to personhood or territory

Heritage science contribution to the understanding of meaningful khipu colours

This work is the first scientific study of khipu dyes and inorganic mordants and auxiliaries, paving the way for a new approach to understanding khipus’ meaningful materiality, technology, and colours. Khipus have usually been described as “Andean knotted records”, but they are much more than complex knotted cords: a great part of the information encoded resides in khipus’ incredible colours. The objects of this study are two Wari khipus, 1932.08.0001 and 1932.08.0002, now at the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, Sweden. After a morphological study of the khipus, the objects were imaged with multiband imaging (MBI) as an aid for the sampling decisional process. The khipus were then analysed non-invasively by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy on selected areas of particular interest. The khipus were consequently sampled for elemental characterisation by micro-XRF, and liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC–HRMS) for characterising the organic dye composition. This paper presents a part of the results of the project “Meaningful materials in the khipu code”, with the intent to shed light on the difficulties and possibilities of investigating khipu colours and dyestuffs. MBI and XRF revealed unforeseeable structural characteristics, such as remnants from a heavily degraded thread in an area of missing thread wrapping and a dual-coloured thread that was previously deemed single-coloured. The organic dyes identified by HPLC–HRMS comprised indigoids, cochineal, and an unknown flavonoid-based dyestuff. XRF of the inorganic components revealed associations of several elements with specific colours