Subject indicators and the decipherment of genre on Andean khipus
Abstract
This article analyzes how khipus, Andean knotted cords for communication, indicated their subject matter. Spanish chroniclers attested to the existence of different genres of khipus; however, scholars have not known how or if khipus indicated the genre of data they stored. Ethnographic testimony reveals that needlework bundles—kaytes—attached to primary cords served as subject indicators. This article surveys post-Inka kaytes, examining one from colonial Huarochirí through an interdisciplinary methodology that provides a model for kayte interpretation. This new evidence about subject indicators supports the hypothesis that khipus encoded information through hierarchical levels of significance, and furthers decipherment.
Citation
Hyland , S P 2021 , ' Subject indicators and the decipherment of genre on Andean khipus ' , Anthropological Linguistics , vol. 62 , no. 2 , pp. 137-158 . https://doi.org/10.1353/anl.2020.0004
Publication
Anthropological Linguistics
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0003-5483Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2021 Trustees of Indiana University. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the author created accepted manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://muse.jhu.edu/article/837387
Description
This research was funded by grants from the National Geographic Society (GEFNE120-14); by the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2017-065); and by a Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.Collections
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