PROFESSOR SABINE HYLAND
Q. WHAT ARE KHIPUS AND WHAT DID THE INCAS USE THEM FOR?
A. Khipus, coloured and knotted cords for recording information, remain one of the greatest mysteries of the Incas and the Andean people. During the Inca Empire, khipus recorded biographies, histories, economic and census data. What if we could read the Incas’ own accounts of their history instead of relying upon biased Spanish chroniclers? The Inca writing system of knotted cords remains undeciphered, although little by little we are making progress in figuring it out. My research has uncovered Peruvian villages where khipus – once thought
