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SUMMARY:Not just knots: on the role of materiality in Andean khipus - Lucr
 ezia Milillo
DTSTART:20241111T170000Z
DTEND:20241111T190000Z
UID:TALK223528@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Jimena Lobo Guerrero Arenas
DESCRIPTION:In its quintessentially three-dimensional nature\, the Andean 
 knotted string device known as the "khipu" conveys meaning through its ent
 ire material essence. Despite this\, the constituent elements of khipus ha
 ve remained unanalysed and unidentified until now (specifically colours an
 d any fibre beyond cotton and animal fibre). I posit that khipu materials 
 were deliberately chosen by their maker(s)\, not only for their sensory qu
 alities but also for their independent symbolic values within the broader 
 Andean cultural context. By conceptualizing the khipu as an assemblage of 
 Andean knowledge\, I propose for an initial departure from the paradigms o
 f symbolic anthropology\, preferring instead the approach of the anthropol
 ogy of technology and integrating it with the material-focused branch of s
 ocial semiotics. The former unveils the meaningful potential of human prac
 tices\, while the latter emphasizes that materials inherently serve as sem
 iotic resources within their cultural utilization. Subsequently\, I will e
 xplore how this perspective can illuminate aspects of the information enco
 ded in khipus through two case studies. The first examines an unidentified
  vegetal fibre systematically used in some Inka-style khipus\, drawing on 
 ethnobotanical insights from fieldwork in San Andres de Tupicocha\, Peru. 
 The second delves into the realm of colour\, presenting it not just as a v
 isual sign but as a material and technological component of the khipu medi
 um. Data collected during my analysis of khipus in European ethnologic mus
 eums\, coupled with collaborations with heritage laboratories\, will provi
 de the first-ever insights into the use of colours in khipus.
LOCATION:Room SG2\, Alison Richard Building
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