Short Wave — "A Lock of Hair Could Rewrite Knowledge Of The Inca Empire"

Host: Regina Barber (NPR)
Reporter: Nell Greenfieldboyce
Guests: Kit Lee (University of St. Andrews), Sabina Hyland (University of St. Andrews), Manny Medrano (Harvard University)
Air Date: August 27, 2025
Episode Length: ~13 minutes (excluding ads)

Episode Overview

This Short Wave episode dives into how a single khipu (an ancient knotted cord) made with human hair uncovered at the University of St. Andrews might upend traditional ideas about who created written records in the Inca Empire. The story melds archaeology, chemistry, and anthropology to reveal that literacy and khipu-making in the empire may have been more widespread—and more ordinary—than historians once believed.

Main Themes & Purpose

• Rethinking Inca record-keeping: Challenging the idea that only elite, male record-keepers created and could read khipus.
• Scientific detective work: How new analyses, such as hair chemistry, provide insight into the status and lives of ancient record-keepers.
• Continuity of tradition: Exploring connections between ancient and modern khipu practices in Andean communities.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is a Khipu?

[04:20–05:34]

• Khipus are intricate record-keeping devices comprising one main cord, from which pendant cords hang; knots and colors encode information.
• The system is "a kind of code … the type of knot, the numbers of cords, the order, their color, everything has meaning" (Nell Greenfieldboyce, 02:09).

2. The Rarity and Survival of Khipus

[05:34–06:01]

• Few ancient Inca khipus survive (~1,000), due to deterioration and destruction by Spanish colonizers.
• Many surviving khipus' original contexts and provenances are unknown, complicating interpretation.

3. Reading Ancient and Modern Khipus

[06:07–07:11]

• Ancient khipus’ meanings remain largely undeciphered.
• In modern Andean communities, khipus are sometimes still made for agricultural or funerary purposes.
• "During COVID you had a resurgence of funerary khipus, which are more of a cultural religious signifier as well" (Kit Lee, 06:47).
• Modern khipus have been considered less 'authentic', thought disconnected from ancient practice.

4. Who Made the Khipus? The Social Status Question

[07:18–08:02]

• Academic consensus has long held that only high-status, elite men produced khipus in the Inca bureaucracy; Spanish accounts reinforce this.
• Modern khipus tend to be made "by lower status people. So hacienda workers, peasant laborers, herders" (Kit Lee, 07:18).

5. A Curious Khipu—Made from Human Hair

[07:45–09:03]

• Sabina Hyland and Kit Lee at St. Andrews examine a khipu thought to be modern—until carbon dating reveals it’s about 500 years old.
• Surprise: The main cord is made of human hair.
  • "Sabina, this primary cord is human hair." (Kit Lee, 08:02)
  • "A person cut off a hank of their hair and then they doubled it over and twisted it." (Sabina Hyland, 08:40)
• Historic precedent: Human hair was sometimes used as a signature, signifying the khipu’s maker.

6. Unlocking Social Class with Chemistry

[09:03–09:52]

• Chemical analysis (carbon, nitrogen isotopes) of the hair reveals a “commoner’s diet”—little meat, no maize beer (a staple of elites).
  • "This person who appears to have made this khipu had the diet of a commoner." (Sabina Hyland, 09:46)
• Maize beer was culturally and ritually mandatory for elite khipu officials.
  • "These very high ranking elite khipu officials, as part of … record keeping, they were involved in rituals in which it was mandatory to drink a lot of maize beer." (Sabina Hyland, 10:08)

7. Rethinking the Mythology of Inca Khipus

[10:29–11:19]

• If a commoner made this ancient, sophisticated khipu, then literacy and participation in record-keeping were likely more widespread.
• The episode challenges "the glorious past of the Andes, that it's a bygone day … because the Spanish destroyed it, colonialism destroyed it." (Kit Lee, 11:00)
• The old view: all post-colonial khipus are “almost like a triviality” (Sabina Hyland, 11:19).

8. Modern Connections: Community and Continuity

[11:33–12:12]

• Community in Jacul, a remote Andean village, still maintains ancestral khipus, some with human hair “signatures.”
  • "They asked me to look at it. They'd never shown their khipus to outsiders before." (Sabina Hyland, 11:43)
• Tassels remain a feature in both ancient and modern khipus, suggesting deeper cultural continuity.
  • Hyland hopes to document their significance through continued ethnography: "It's not like using AI. It's just talking with people." (Nell Greenfieldboyce, 12:16)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "There's this idea of [the Inca empire] being a glorious past of the Andes, that it's a bygone day … because the Spanish destroyed it, colonialism destroyed it."
  — Kit Lee, [11:00]
• "This person who appears to have made this khipu had the diet of a commoner."
  — Sabina Hyland, [09:46]
• "Maize beer is different, because these very high ranking elite khipu officials, as part of the process of getting record keeping, they were involved in rituals in which it was mandatory to drink a lot of maize beer."
  — Sabina Hyland, [10:08]
• "I know, talking to people, it's a radical notion, very old school."
  — Regina Barber, [12:12]

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:18–01:26: Introduction to the Inca empire & unique aspects of their record keeping
• 04:20–04:39: What khipus look like; visualization for listeners
• 05:16–05:46: Challenges in deciphering ancient khipus
• 06:07–06:47: Khipus in modern Andean customs
• 07:18–07:26: Who made ancient vs. modern khipus, class distinctions
• 08:02–08:40: Discovery: khipu made of human hair, personal signatures
• 09:40–09:52: Diet analysis suggests record keeper was a commoner
• 10:29–11:19: Re-examining myths: khipus as an elite or a communal practice
• 11:43–12:12: Continuity of tradition in Jacul, modern Andean khipus

Episode Tone and Style

The conversation—anchored by curiosity, warmth, and gentle humor—conveys the thrill of scientific discovery and historical detective work. The guests and hosts are open about surprises in their research, eager to challenge assumptions, and deeply respectful of the Andean communities keeping tradition alive.

In Summary

This episode of Short Wave brings fresh evidence to light, using a strand of human hair to rethink the history of the Inca empire. It suggests that the power to record, organize, and transmit knowledge wasn’t confined to the elite—and that living Andean traditions are not just a shadow of a lost past, but part of an ongoing and evolving story.

Listeners leave with new questions: Who really gets to "write" history? And whose threads, knotted quietly centuries ago, might yet reshape what we think we know?