Documentation as conservation: The treatment of an archaeological Andean khipu

Khipu were the primary record-keeping system used in the Andean region of South America during pre-Hispanic times. Their decoding continues to be an active area of research within Andean studies, making access to these primary source materials important for scholars. The poor condition of an Inka khipu (Am1937,0213.84) in the collection of the British Museum precluded its study and display. Remedial conservation included realigning tangled cords and supporting split fragments. However, a key aspect of the conservation strategy was its documentation, which, because of the khipu’s complexity and fragility, required the skills of a textile conservator. Collaboration with a curator and khipu researcher provided the cultural context of the khipu, determined which features were of interest to scholars and how they should be recorded. More than 4,100 pieces of data were recorded, and the information was uploaded into the Open Khipu Repository (OKR), an open-source digital repository of all known khipu. This case study shows how the information gathered by textile conservators, together with that of curatorial and research colleagues, can improve understanding of a textile, increase access to the information it holds and feed into wider research.