 |
|
Inka textile devices served as business ledgers
August 15, 2005Computer analysis reveals numerical and other patterns in knotted objects
While most ancient cultures recorded civil matters and business transactions by inscribing characters on 2-dimensional sheets, new evidence shows Peru's original inhabitants used a 3-dimensional system of knotted strings to keep track of things.
In the Aug. 12 edition of the journal Science, Harvard University anthropologist Gary Urton and database developer Carrie Brezine say their computer analysis of 21 of the knotted objects, known as "khipu," revealed distinct patterns that help confirm the textile devices were used for record keeping and to communicate affairs of state throughout the sprawling empire of the Inka-a spelling Urton prefers because it is closer to the native Peruvian language.
Seven of the objects appeared to contain cumulative numerical data.
Deciphering the khipu information also helps explain how the vast Inka bureaucracy, which ruled the Andes from 1425 to 1532, stayed so organized without ever developing a system of 2-dimensional writing.
According to Urton, khipu were used "to record the information deemed most important to the state, which often included accounting and other data related to censuses, finance and the military. In this regard," he said, 'the discovery that khipu were used as ledger books reveals a new consonance between the Inka and other ancient cultures.\\\
Harvard University
Seven of the objects appeared to contain cumulative numerical data.
Deciphering the khipu information also helps explain how the vast Inka bureaucracy, which ruled the Andes from 1425 to 1532, stayed so organized without ever developing a system of 2-dimensional writing.
According to Urton, khipu were used "to record the information deemed most important to the state, which often included accounting and other data related to censuses, finance and the military. In this regard," he said, 'the discovery that khipu were used as ledger books reveals a new consonance between the Inka and other ancient cultures.\\\
Harvard University
Looking to nature for better sunscreens wins Kaye Prize for Hebrew University graduate student
While the general public has become more conscious of the need for protecting against sunburn in recent years, the incidence of skin cancer has continued to rise? Why this anomaly? Because while existing sunscreen lotions do protect against sunburn, they do not provide protection for the more destructive elements of ultra-violet radiation (UVR) that can cause serious DNA damage and immunosuppression, eventually leading to skin cancer. Taking a cue from nature, a doctoral student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Pharmacy has found that more effective sunscreens can be produced by isolating compounds from several species of ancient organisms. For her research, Avital Kerner-To
More Inka Current Events and Inka News Articles
 | Machu Picchu: The story of the amazing Inkas and their city in the clouds (Wonders of the World Book) by Elizabeth Mann The story of the rise of the Inkas and the building of the great city of Machu Picchu is described in this book. The city is as astonishing as were its builders. Set in a remote, inaccessible area of the high Andes, this breathtaking city was never found by the Spanish Conquistadors and remains an untouched example of Inka genius. Wonders of the World series The winner of numerous awards,... |
 | Macchu Picchu: The Story of the Amazing Inkas and Their City in the Clouds (Wonders of the World Book) by Elizabeth Mann Was there ever a people like the Inkas? Using slingshots, clubs and stone-tipped spears, this small Andean tribe conquered an area spanning 2,500 miles. Without the use of the wheel, they built a vast and sophisticated network of roads. Without an alphabet, they administered a population of ten million people. With the most primitive of tools, they built cities of stone. Machu Picchu is... |
 | Inka Essenhigh by Bonnie Clearwater The catalogue INKA ESSENHIGH was published to accompany this talented and critically acclaimed artist's first solo museum exhibition. It includes 27 generous full color reproductions, in addition to many full color and black and white illustrations. Essay by Bonnie... |
| The Economic Organization of the Inka State . Research in Economic Anthropology Supplement 1 by John V. Murra | |
 | Variations in the Expressions of Inka Power (Dumbarton Oaks Other Titles in Pre-Columbian Studies) Download a corrected version of the map of the Lake Titicaca region. Until recently, little archaeological investigation has been dedicated to the Inka, the last great culture to flourish in Andean South America before the sixteenth-century arrival of the Spaniards. While the Inka have been traditionally viewed through the textual sources of early colonial histories, this volume draws on... |
| Inka Storage Systems | |
 | Ancient Americas: Maya, Aztec, Inka and Beyond by Nicholas J. Saunders In AD 1492, Christopher Columbus stumbled across the Americas while searching for a route to the spice rich Orient. This was a unique moment in world history, akin to an encounter with alien species in our own time. What Columbus, and his successors encountered was an unsuspected continent, a New World, full of civilizations strangely different from European societies in their languages,... |
 | Inka Bodies and the Body of Christ: Corpus Christi in Colonial Cuzco, Peru by Carolyn Dean In Inka Bodies and the Body of Christ Carolyn Dean investigates the multiple meanings of the Roman Catholic feast of Corpus Christi as it was performed in the Andean city of Cuzco after the Spanish conquest. By concentrating on the era’s paintings and its historical archives, Dean explores how the festival celebrated the victory of the Christian God over sin and death, the triumph of Christian... |
 | Saatchi Gallery: The Triumph of Painting by Meghan Dailey, Inka Essenhigh, Dexter Dalwood, Eberhard Havekost, Dana Schutz, Matthias Weischer, Michael Raedecker This third volume documenting Saatchiís substantial collection of twentieth and twenty-first century painting includes Matthias Weischerís echoing architectural grids, Eberhard Havekostís barrenly unpeopled snapshots, Dexter Dalwoodís midcentury-inspired interiors, Dana Schutzís emotions personified, Michael Raedeckerís dark fairytale suburbs, and Inka Essenhighís otherworldly whorls. With... |
 | The Ancient Ones: Sacred Monuments of the Inka, Maya & Cliffdweller by Hans Li |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |