Unraveling the Relationship between Color and Meaning of Cords in Matching and Related Inka Khipu

Summary

Colors of cords in Inka khipu are of great interest because it has long been understood that they were meant to convey specific meanings, namely indicating the individual category being encoded in a particular position on a khipu. Colonial authors such as Calancha and Garcilaso de la Vega made claims regarding what certain colors symbolized, but studies of extant khipu have yet to definitively correlate colors with specific meanings. Before we can begin to understand the correlation between color and meaning, we need to assess to what extent color choices were standardized within and between the different levels at which khipu were created and used within the empire. Here I discuss observations regarding the level of standardization of colors within individual khipu, between those in matching sets, and between related khipu comprising an accounting hierarchy; these observations are derived from my analysis of data tables for two large matching khipu from Coastal Peru and for a set of three khipu from Ica that make up an accounting hierarchy. Results suggest that, at least for these khipu, color choice was consistent in some cases but variable in many others, and that pendant position was perhaps most important for conveying meaning.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Color, Structure and Meaning in Ancient Andean Fiber Arts

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