Signs of the Inka Khipu by Gary Urton
In an age when computers process immense amounts of information by the manipulation of sequences of 1s and 0s, it remains a frustrating mystery how prehistoric Inka recordkeepers encoded a tremendous variety and quantity of data using only knotted and dyed strings. Yet the comparison between computers and khipu may hold an important clue to deciphering the Inka records. In this book, Gary Urton sets forth a pathbreaking theory that the manipulation of fibers in the construction of khipu created physical features that constitute binary-coded sequences which store units of information in a system of binary recordkeeping that was used throughout the Inka empire. Urton begins his theory with the making of khipu, showing how at each step of the process binary, either/or choices were made. He then investigates the symbolic components of the binary coding system, the amount of information that could have been encoded, procedures that may have been used for reading the khipu, the nature of the khipu signs, and, finally, the nature of the khipu recording system itself-emphasizing relations of markedness and semantic coupling. This research constitutes a major step forward in building a unified theory of the khipu system of information storage and communication based on the sum total of construction features making up these extraordinary objects.
"Urton's work is scholarly and painstakingly thorough and is a valuable contribution to our understanding of Inca inscription that makes good use of ethnographic and ethnohistorical work on the Andean region" * The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *
Gary Urton is Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies at Harvard University. His publications include At the Crossroads of the Earth and the Sky, The History of a Myth, The Social Life of Numbers, Inca Myths and Signs of the Inka Khipu. Adriana von Hagen is cofounder of the Museo Leymebamba in Chachapoyas, Peru, and writes on the archaeology of Peru. Her publications include The Incas and The Cities of the Ancient Andes (both with Craig Morris).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780292785403 |
| ISBN 10 | 0292785402 |
| Title | Signs of the Inka Khipu |
| Author | Gary Urton |
| Series | The Linda Schele Series In Maya And Pre-Columbian Studies |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | University of Texas Press |
| Year published | 2003-08-01 |
| Number of pages | 216 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |