Coding with Knots

In this paper we explore new ways to approach understanding of the mysterious Precolumbian quipus, using both visual and sonic interpretations. We base our investigation on the Harvard Quipu Archive, starting with graphical visualisation techniques that give us an overall view so we can compare textile structures and perform basic cryptanalysis. We use listening and sonification in order to filter and compare the different modes of data representation (knot type, colour, twist and material). This provides new ways to explore both currently understood and unknown patterns of meaning in quipus.

This is the open-access author’s version of a closed access article published by Taylor and Francis in TEXTILE: Journal of Cloth and Culture, May 2017. It is shared under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, with doi: 10.5281/zenodo.1098248.