UR1130/KH0145

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Khipu Notes Exist - See Below

Original Name: AS130
Original Author: Marcia & Robert Ascher
Museum: Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin
Museum Number: VA37865
Provenance: Unknown
Region: near Lima
Total Number of Cords: 28
Number of Ascher Cord Colors: 11
Benford Match: 0.957
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Datafile: UR1130

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Khipu Notes

Ascher Databook Notes:
  1. Construction note: The twisted end of cord 1 is linked through the twisted end of the main cord so that it dangles from the end of the main cord. (See diagram for UR1100.)
  2. UR1130, UR1154, AS155, AS177, and AS178 were acquired by the Museum in 1907 with provenance near Lima. For a discussion of them, see #6 below.
  3. The 16 pendants are 11 different colors. Only 1 color appears on more than 2 pendants. All pendants with the repeated color DB:W have sub sidiaries that are YB and have the same value on the pendant as on the subsidiary.
  4. With the exception of the first pendant and its subsidiary, all values are 0-6
  5. The sum of the values on the first pendant and its subsidiary equals the sum of the values on the other 15 pendants and their subsidiaries.
  6. Discussion of UR1130, UR1154, AS155, AS177, AS178, and associated blank khipu:
    1. UR1154 and AS155 are designated by the same Museum number. They are similar in that AS155 is made of 3 of the 4 colors of UR1154.
    2. AS177 and AS178 are designated by the same Museum number. They are similar in that they are both made of animal hair.
    3. Each of the 5 khipus has 1 cord set off from the rest. On UR1130, a cord dangles from the beginning of the main cord; on UR1154, AS155, and AS178, a first or last cord is separated from the others by space on the main cord; and on AS177, the main cord itself has knot clusters and so serves as a separate special cord.
    4. Also acquired by the Museum in 1907 with provenance near Lima, is a khipu with no knots on any of the pendants or subsidiaries. The Museum number is VA37857. A description of the khipu (with approximate measurements) follows:

      The main cord is LB. The first group of pendants begins 49.0 cm. from the twisted end. Then there are 21 pendant groups. Each of the first 14 groups takes up about 1.5 cm. along the main cord with about 0.5 cm. between groups. Each of the last 7 groups takes up about 1.5 cm. along the main cord with about 1.5 cm. between groups. After another 5.0 cm. of main cord, it terminates in a fringed woven ball. (There are 5 ribs each approximately. 3 cm. wide and separated from the next rib by 0.5 cm. Thus, the ball measures about 4.0 cm. around and is 1.25 cm. at its widest.)

      The 21 pendant groups can be described in 3 parts of 7 groups each. In each part, the 7 groups have 8, 9, 10, 10, 8, 10, 10 pendants, respectively. In parts 1 and 2, with the exception of the second group in part 2, all pendants in a group have the same color and the group colors are LB, W, LB, W, LB, W, W. (The exceptional group has 1 LB, 3 KB, 5 LB.) In part 3, all pendants in the first 6 groups are LB and those in the last group are W. In each part, the last 3 groups have no subsidiaries and, with a few exceptions, the first 4 groups have 2 subsidiaries per pendant colored KB:W and W. The exceptions are: in the first group in the first part, the first 3 pendants have no subsidiaries; in the first group in the second part, the first 3 pendants have only 1 subsidiary, color W; and in the third group of the third part, the sixth pendant has no subsidiaries. Each pendant is about 40.0 cm. long.