The Discovery of Hair in the Astronomical Context of the Incas Changes the Understanding of Civilization

• Hair found in khipus testifies to the participation of common people in the recorded entries.
• Research shows that women also produced khipus in the Inca empire.
• New data changes the understanding of literacy among the Incas.

Hair, found in the astronomical context of the Incas, testifies to the fact that the recorded entries in the empire were widespread not only among the elite but also among common people.

Research, published in the journal Science Advances, changes the understanding of literacy in the middle of the Inca civilization. The Incas used strings with knots known as khipus for record-keeping, including numerical information.

This system consisted of a main string with many attached strings, which coded information about the location of resources, their distribution, and colors. The hair was identified on the khipus as a "signature" of the creator.

Research has shown that the hair found in khipus belonged to a person who lived in what is now southern Peru or northern Chile.

Previously, it was believed that only elite men were involved in producing khipus. However, new data suggest that women also created these recording systems, which puts into question the previous understanding of literacy in khipus as being exclusively patriarchal.

Research confirms that in the Inca empire, literacy in recorded entries could have been more widespread and inclusive than previously thought.

Tags: Research