“We are very, very small, but we are profoundly capable of very, very big things” ~ STEPHEN HAWKING
Dear Readers, Community, Friends,
What could accounting and art possibly have in common? Well, as it turns out, the answer is tied to the ancient language of the Incas.
It has been known for some time that the Inca used a series of colored fibers, corded and donned with a series of knots for their accounting purposes (keeping track of their inventory of corn and other supplies). But recently, it was discovered that these knotted strands did much more than track records: it was the way they communicated with each other. Since no written language has ever been discovered, it has been thought that the Inca did not have a recorded language.
“What we found is a series of complex color combinations between the cords,” says Sabine Hyland, professor of anthropology at St. Andrews University in Scotland and a National Geographic Explorer. “The cords have 14 different colors that allow for 95 unique cord patterns. That number is within the range of symbols in logosyllabic writing systems.”
Read on in this fascinating National Geographic article that explains how this intricate array of dyed and tied collection of fibers was used to express what was on the minds of this ancient people.
Stories can be found everywhere, and often the most interesting are found in the perceived unsaid. So, go out, and have a keener eye to things. You never know what is yet to be discovered.
