New research from the University of St Andrews has discovered how Incas used Andean balance scales and ancient string knot writing known as 'khipus', in association with sacred, animate landscapes.
Published today in the journal RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics , this new research found that both balance scales and khipus (a method of writing using small knots used by the Inca and pre-Inca societies) were tied to Andean notions of wellbeing that prioritise achieving a state of balance and harmony in social, economic and moral affairs.
Achieving balance was a constant preoccupation in people's lives.
Research suggests that certain kinds of balance scales (wooden unequal-arm balances known as 'wipis') were used in the precolonial Andes to support the exchange of highly prized goods between different ethnic groups: highland herder communities who produced raw wool and yarn, and lowland cultivators of coca leaf.
The new work suggests that red tassels found on some ancient khipus and balance scales could have served a 'supernatural' function by certifying that the information recorded or displayed on the object was trustworthy.
In Andean society, the colour red is associated with ideas of wholeness and power, where bright red hues are deemed to preserve the integrity of an object and any vital energy contained within it.
The research also emphasizes that Andean balances were not necessarily used within a context of exactitude. In many interactions, the scale achieving balance is not the central priority, but that the product being supplied or traded is deemed sufficient based on the degree of tilt and an agreement by the individuals involved.
This work reveals an intimate relationship between measuring instruments, like balance scales and khipus, and ideas of social responsibility and community.
Wipi scales appear to have been used exclusively for weighing coca leaf and wool, which tells us that in pre-Hispanic Andean society, including the Inca Era, these scales would have been used to facilitate access to highly prized goods grown outside of (and perhaps also within) a community's lands. This new research sheds light on how pre-Hispanic equal-arm balances were used.
The study emphasizes thinking of khipus as registers that were part of dynamic interactions, where the sacred ancestors believed to own and control water were considered in the production and use of these registers.
Sarah Bennison, an interdisciplinary Andean studies researcher at The University of St Andrews who co-authored the paper, said: "The study emphasizes thinking of khipus as registers that were part of dynamic interactions, where the sacred ancestors believed to own and control water were considered in the production and use of these registers. We could cast our gaze more broadly and explore the wider context of customs geared at achieving balance, of which khipus played a part. And in turn, the study of Inca balance scales holds promise for deepening our understandings of khipus."
This new work represents the most in-depth research into unequal-arm balances known as 'wipis' to date. Although wipis can be found in some museum collections today, references to these small, wooden balances seemed to fade away from the ethnographic literature in the 1980s. It wasn't clear if wipi use had died out or not. However, paper co-author Bennison discovered them still in use as late as 2022.
These new insights unite archaeological, historical, and ethnographic research to understand the diverse uses of scales, exploring how the uses of wipis are embedded in perceptions of what it means for an individual and their community to be 'in balance'.
