Karen is a Senior Research Data Specialist (University of Melbourne). Formally an actuary, she holds degrees in Mathematics, Fine Arts, and Cultural Materials Conservation. She focuses on data organisation, communication, and cultural collections.
Museo Larco
Being able to see a khipu in person is incredibly important for researchers and enthusiasts. And as I am located in Australia, this means such opportunities either require significant travel to the khipu, or a rare experience such as this, where the khipu has come closer to me.
You may have noticed in Ashok’s post – Can We Use AI for Khipu Decipherment? – that “recent surveys put the total number of surviving khipus today at around 1,300 to 1,600” and wondered how that count came about? The short answer: with a whole lot of hard work
KH0083
By way of introduction, I am a mathematician and data-lover and maker who, when growing up, also wanted to be an archaeologist and an art/ist teacher and an architect. I had long been fascinated by khipus before I first heard about The Khipu Field Guide (KFG) while listening