Khipu Field Guide - Table of Contents
KH0279 - A schematic drawing of the same Khipu, arranged to show its primary cord, pendant cords, and subsidiary cords. Welcome to The Khipu Field Guide - Travel back in time to the Inkan empire of the 14th through 16th century. Explore how the Inkas used cloth to communicate and record commitments. Journey with me, as I work with other khipu scholars, to decipher the enigma behind a knotted mop of camelid yarn. This site has seven sections. GUIDEBOOK Start here, if you’re not familiar with how to read a khipu, the history of khipu research, or how the process of decipherment works. SKETCHBOOK Use the web to view the khipu using a schematic likeness of the original cords and knots. Our highly curated database, the world’s largest collection, currently contains 703 khipus. NOTEBOOK Ready to adventure into the technical details, and start deciphering? Put on your thinking cap and journey with me. Some of the decipherment work described here has been recently published by co-researcher Ma