Quipu - Wikipedia
Quipu (/ ˈkiːpuː / KEE-poo), also spelled khipu, are recording devices fashioned from knotted cords. They were historically used by various cultures in the central Andes of South America, most prominently by the Inca Empire. [1]
Quipu - World History Encyclopedia
May 8, 2014 · A Quipu (khipu) was a method used by the Incas and other ancient Andean cultures to keep records and communicate information using string and knots. In the absence of an alphabetic writing system, this simple and highly portable device achieved a surprising degree of precision and flexibility.
Quipu | Definition, Significance, & Facts | Britannica
Quipu, an accounting apparatus used by Andean peoples from 2500 BCE, especially during the Inca empire of the 15th and 16th centuries. It consisted of a long textile cord (called a top, or primary, cord) with a varying number of pendant cords with knots encoding numeric values.
Quipu: How Did the Inca Record Information with Cords & Knots?
Oct 9, 2023 · Instead of using paper, stone, wood, or any known form of writing, the Incas developed a system using specially woven cords with branching structures and knots called quipu. Even centuries after the empire’s decline, quipus continue to captivate historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists.
Quipu - South America's Undeciphered Writing System
Jul 3, 2019 · Quipu is the Spanish form of the Inca (Quechua language) word khipu (also spelled quipo), a unique form of ancient communication and information storage used by the Inca Empire, their competition and their predecessors in South America.
Quipu: The secrets of the ancient Incan communication system
Consisting of intricately knotted cords in an array of colors, lengths, and materials, quipu served as a versatile and sophisticated means of record keeping and information exchange. But how did this intricate system of knots develop? What secrets lie within its complex structure?
Quipu - Smithsonian Institution
Nov 8, 2011 · Quipus (kee-poo), sometimes called talking knots, were recording devices used by the Inka Empire, the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The word quipu comes from the Quechua word for “knot.” A quipu usually consisted of colored, spun and plied thread or strings from llama hair.
Quipu: The Ancient Computer of the Inca Civilization - Peru For …
Nov 30, 2020 · Learn about the history and purpose of the quipu, with insights from anthropologist and best-selling author of The Last Days of the Incas Kim MacQuarrie. Quipus, or talking knots, were record-keeping devices for ancient Andean civilizations.
Quipu - Latin American Studies - Oxford Bibliographies
Feb 21, 2023 · The quipu (also khipu or kipu) is a device of knotted and colored strings of vegetal or animal fiber used by the Incas and other Andean cultures to record information.
The Incas used stringy objects called 'khipus' to record data—we …
Nov 13, 2024 · For more than a millennium, many Andean peoples used an object called a "khipu" (also spelled "quipu" and pronounced "key-poo") to record and communicate information.