Join Alba Menéndez Pereda, PhD candidate at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, for a program inspired by a Peruvian Inka khipu on display at the Fowler in Communications Systems in a Global Context. Khipu were used by the Inka to keep many kinds of records, but interpreting them has been challenging. Only a handful are directly linked to any translatable texts. Learn how to better understand khipu materials, structure, colors, and forms; how they communicate numerical accounts and narratives; the challenges to their decipherment; and the legacy of their use today.

Alba Menéndez Pereda is a PhD candidate at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. Her research focuses on the commemorative practices of the Inka elites and the construction of Inka history through performances across the natural and built environment. Prior to her arrival in Los Angeles, Menéndez Pereda earned her bachelor’s degree at Durham University in the UK and completed her master’s at the University of Cambridge. At UCLA, she serves on the Fowler Museum Student Council; co-organizes the Andean Working Group, which brings together scholars working on the Andes from multiple disciplinary perspectives; and shares information about the Andes with the public via social media.