Decipherment and History: Recovering Peru's Andean Heritage
The importance of the Andean cultural heritage has been denigrated and understudied within Peru and globally. Local ethnic groups in Peru lack access to their own history, while the traditional Andean form of communication, "khipus", has been disparaged as not being "true writing".
Research carried out by Professor Sabine Hyland and Dr William Hyland has helped to recover the cultural heritage of native Andeans by publishing the first historical ethnography of Peruvian Chanka Indians, incorporated into displays at the Chanka museum; and by advancing our understanding of the Andean system of writing with knotted cords, "khipus".
This research, especially the discovery and partial decipherment of two phonetic khipus, demonstrates the sophistication of Andean culture. Their discoveries about khipus have been incorporated into the Peruvian school curricula at the national and local levels, where they teach Peruvian children about the intellectual achievements of their ancestors.
Their khipu research has received international media coverage, such as this cover story in the popular magazine, New Scientist: "The Inca Code: We thought they left no writing. We were wrong". The continuing decipherment of this ancient writing system allows Andean history to be revealed in the words of the native people themselves, unfiltered through the writings of their Spanish conquerors.
This research is ongoing, and the project anticipates that it will lead to additional breakthroughs. To learn more, read this article in Scientific American.