Overview

• Radiocarbon dating places the khipu at around AD 1498 during the height of the Inca Empire.
• Its primary cord consists of a single 104-cm human hair strand that was folded and twisted to form the main cord.
• Isotope ratio mass spectrometry of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur in the hair indicates a diet dominated by tubers and greens with little meat, maize or marine foods.
• The evidence challenges Spanish colonial-era accounts that only elite male khipukamayuqs produced these devices, pointing to more inclusive social authorship.
• Researchers emphasize that findings rest on a single poorly-provenanced artifact and call for broader analysis to confirm the results.