Join us in welcoming Dr. Sabine Hyland (Professor and Director of Research, School of Divinity, University of St. Andrews) for her talk "Iconicity in Andean Khipus"
Abstract: In the past, scholars have considered khipus to be one of the only "non-iconic" writing systems in the world, in which there is a purely arbitrary relationship between khipu signs and their meanings. This talk will argue that iconicity is, in fact, fundamental to khipu semiosis, and plays a central role in how khipus conveyed meaning. After exploring iconicity in Inka and post-Inka khipus, the presentation will conclude with a consideration of why iconicity is relevant to our attempts to understand khipus
