INTRODUCTION

The Incan Khipu Visualizer is a prototype for a visualization of the collection of Incan khipu analyzed by Gary Urton and the Khipu Database Project at Harvard University. Khipu are textile artifacts from the Andean region of South America, used by the Incan civilization (1400 - 1532) to encode information as a series of hierarchically arranged knotted cords. While the "meanings" of some khipu have been fairly well established (as record-keeping devices, for example), many remain undeciphered. For more information about the khipu, click here or here. It was developed as a final project for CMS.801 Media in Transition.

If you didn't arrive here from the Visualizer itself, CLICK HERE TO LAUNCH THE INCAN KHIPU VISUALIZER.

Unfortunately, due to issues with the JExcel API being used to read the KDP's Excel files, I had to sign the applet. You will be asked to accept this signature when the applet starts. That said, I promise that the Visualizer accesses absolutely nothing other than the Excel files stored within its jar file.

USING THE VISUALIZER

The visual representation used in the Khipu Visualizer was designed to reflect the physical structure of khipu, though it is a highly schematic interpretation. Understanding the interface will require an understanding of khipu structure, but you can imagine it as representing what a khipu would look like if you stretched the "main cord" out length-wise and allowed its pendants to hang down below it. It is important to note that the horizontal length of the khipu in the Visualizer is based on the number of primary cords it contains, NOT on its physical length. Accordingly, the spatial groupings of the primary pendants are not preserved. This is a result of both resolution constraints and limitations in how the KDP has encoded the related information.

The tick marks at the top of the diagram represent the end points of all the khipu in the collection. You can select a khipu either by mousing over a tick mark, or by clicking the "+" or "-" buttons next to "selection" at the bottom right of the screen.

tick marks - mouse over to select khipu

Selected Khipu (Yellow)

primary cords

By default, only the primary cords and knots of the currently selected khipu are displayed. Knot groupings in primary cords are represented as circles, with their size denoting the number of knots in the grouping. By clicking the appropriate checkbox at the bottom of the screen next to "selected khipu," secondary and tertiary cords and their knots can be overlaid on the primary and secondary cords, repsectively. Secondary cords appear as a brighter yellow (depending on the degree to which they overlap other cords), and their knot groupings are represented as red squares. Tertiary cords are brighter still, with their knot groupings represented as white triangles.

secondary cords	tertiary cords	all cords combined

Meta data about the selected khipu is displayed at the bottom left of the screen.


Khipu Density Map (Blue)

khipu density map

The blue/purple background image represents a density map of the entire khipu data set. The khipu are rendered on top of one another slightly transparently, such that areas containing common khipu features show up as brighter. This allows you to see how the currently selected (yellow) khipu compares to the collection as a whole. As with selected khipu, you can display a density map of any combination of primary, secondary, or tertiary cords.


Navigation

Select a khipu either by mousing over a tick mark at the top of the diagram, or clicking on the "+" or "-" buttons next to "selection" at the bottom left of the screen.

Zoom in and out on the khipu by using the "+" and "-" buttons located next to "zoom" in the lower left. The "o" button resets the display to the default zoom. Note that zooming will turn off the khipu density map.

Scroll through a zoomed khipu by using the circular arrow buttons at the left and right sides of the display. These buttons will only be enabled if part of the currently selected khipu extends off the edges of the display.

 

 

mike danziger, 12/2007