Writing with Thread: Khipu, the Sacred Records of the Inkas with Ashok Khosla, Saoirse Byrne

How do you make records of an empire that stretches across the entire South American continent? The writing system has to be lightweight since it is carried across long distances by “chaskis”—trained “foot-runners”. It has to be resistant to forgery and malicious editing. It has to be made from locally available materials across the length and breadth of South America.

The Inkas adapted knots and textiles to administer an empire as large as Rome. Although we still can’t fully decipher khipus, statistical analyses are starting to reveal their secrets. Learn about the state of decipherment, how the Inkas made khipus, and how to make some yourself!

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• Next month, 28th August, 06:00 pm, The Past is Always Present: Chosmos—Time Travel in Heavyweight Type with Cristian Vargas in San Francisco