In balance: understanding the use of scales in Andean life

Today, balances (scales) are used in modern highland Andean communities, a tradition that archaeological research demonstrates has pre-Hispanic roots. In this paper, we discuss how the uses of balances are embedded in perceptions of what it means for an individual and their community to be “in balance”. To do this, we unite archaeological, historical, and ethnographic research to understand the diverse uses of scales. In modern-day Andean highland communities, scales known as wipis are used to exchange goods across resource zones and to weigh wool and yarn used in weaving. Wipis are also employed as part of important ancestral traditions, where the act of weighing takes place in association with sacred objects and landscapes. Across these different historic and contemporary contexts, balance use is embedded in perceptions of fairness and sufficiency. In this sense, balances often gauge how an individual or group measures up against predetermined expectations rather than a specific standardized weight. In the ancient Andes, while it is difficult to fully reconstruct how balances were used and the social meanings they were associated with, research on craft production, administration and exchange can elucidate a variety of weight measurement practices. Pre-Hispanic balances were used by traders, artisans and leaders to determine what was sufficient in exchanges and tribute collections, and to verify that goods possessed certain qualities. Across these contexts what was deemed sufficient likely depended on agreements between the actors involved and social understandings of community and personal responsibility, rather than a standardized weight and the scale always achieving balance.