Scholars to discuss theories, findings on Andean civilizations at Dartmouth conference

Posted 10/23/00, by Amanda Weatherman

About 30 scholars from around the country, and a few from South America, will gather at Dartmouth on Nov. 4 and 5 to exchange research findings on ancient Andean civilizations.

"The Northeast Conference on Andean Archeology and Ethnohistory" features a paper presentation by MacArthur Fellow Gary Urton, Professor of Anthropology at Colgate University, who discusses the Inca artifacts called khipus, records made of knotted strings. While it is generally accepted that khipus served as a record of tribute–goods owed to the government, like modern taxes–Urton explores other possible uses of the khipu to record narrative text, poetry, song or stories. His specimens, to be pictured on slides, are from a well-preserved burial site in the jungle of northern Peru.

The khipu holds special interest to researchers because the Inca were the only civilization in the world to not have produced a written language, said Paul Goldstein, Assistant Professor of Anthopology at Dartmouth and the conference's organizer.

"The idea that the Inca state system could achieve what it did without written records is mind-boggling," Goldstein said. "How did khipus work, and can they be deciphered, are the bottom-line questions."

William Isbell, Professor of Anthropology at State University of New York—Binghamton, will discuss new discoveries in Peru of beautiful oversized pottery from a pre-Inca site that was intentionally destroyed in ritual. The pre-Incan "Huari" state, an urban culture, is Isbell's specialty, and Goldstein called the artifacts "a very exciting new find."

Heather Lechtman, Professor of Archaeology and Ancient Technology at MIT and a recognized authority in Andean metallugy, will compare the very different bronze smelting traditions of the ancient Huari and Tiwanaku cultures. The differences in technological style may be a clue to the relationship between the two civilizations, Goldstein said.

The conference coincides with the Hood Museum's exhibit, Oculate Beings and Horrible Birds, which presents ceramics, textiles, and other objects from ancient cultures in what is now Peru.

The Northeast conference is unique, Goldstein said, because it schedules only one session at a time, rather than a hurried series of concurrent presentations common to national conferences. The informal format allows for questions from the audience, and meaningful collegial discussions among the researchers.

The conference will take place in 1 Rockefeller. It is sponsored by Dartmouth's Department of Anthropology, Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies, the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding and the Hood Museum of Art. It is free and open to the public; for information call Paul Goldstein at 646-1849.

- By Amanda Weatherman