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Can specific khipus be matched to the colonial documents that transcribe or describe them?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·Part of Do any khipus record language, or only numbers and categories?·3 answers·0·0 following
Most likely: the Santa Valley khipus record the 1670 revisita, and more such pairs can be found in colonial archivesAhead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. The Santa Valley khipus record the 1670 revisita, and more such pairs can be found in colonial archives. leads, with evidence 1 for: partly supported by its tests. Two are still possible.

Why it matters

Matching is the khipu equivalent of a bilingual. The Santa Valley case is the only published match of a group of khipus to a named census⁠[1].

Answers 3

Evidence: 1 for
Most likely
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible
Evidence: 1 for
Still possible

History

  1. Medrano & Urton puts forward: the Santa Valley khipus record the 1670 revisita, and more such pairs can be found in colonial archives.
  2. Medrano & Urton: 133 six-cord groups against 132 named tributaries; first-cord values total the assessed tribute.For: The Santa Valley khipus record the 1670 revisita, and more such pairs can be found in colonial archives.
  3. Medrano & Khosla: internal sums are common in khipus, so totals can be reached in more than one way.For: The Santa Valley match is coincidental or the result of choosing which cords to sum.
  4. Asked on this site
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