Manuel Medrano, US

Reflections on Structure in Andean Khipus

Among the most distinctive tools of the prehispanic South American Andes were khipus, knotted string devices that recorded both numerical figures and non-numerical information allegedly spanning history, genealogy, and more. The knots used to record decimal quantities were deciphered in the early 20^th century, although the functions and interrelationships of other khipu elements – which often exhibit a highly regular structure – remain largely opaque. In this talk, I reflect on the question of structure as it relates to ongoing khipu decipherment efforts. Following a broad survey of the 1,000+ years of known khipu use in the Andes (c. 950 – 1950 CE), I explore three avenues of inquiry that, in my view, hold particular promise for the future: (1) studies of written transcriptions of khipus from the 16^th century CE; (2) the large-scale cataloging of almost 1,400 khipus in museums and private collections; and (3) the application of data science techniques to identify their underlying patterns. In all cases, the ongoing digitization of khipu-related materials serves those theorizing the relationship between khipus and language, while enabling large-scale comparative studies that situate khipus within the overarching colonial transformations of the Andean world. The three avenues of inquiry will also be embedded within a broader history of khipu research, a small but energetic field that spans four continents and over a century of scholarly attention. Finally, I consider the word code as it relates to our object of study. Can khipus be said to exhibit a code? How would we know if they do? How can the answer inform ongoing research efforts? These questions, despite their difficulty, will figure prominently in shaping the study of khipus for years to come.