Counting Quipu
The Ancient Data Collecting Devices
Background
Quipu (also written Khipu) were an ancient record keeping device created in Central and South America by indigenous Andeans, prior to Spanish colonization. They were made up of one main cord with many connecting pendant cords that contained knots. Pendant cords also sometimes contained subsidiary cords (denoted by an 's') that had their own knots. The number and placement of knots determined the value stored in that cord. Color and texture of the cord defined the types of information being counted. Quipu were often carried from region to region by a Chasqui, or messenger, in order to spread information or to continue collecting data. Though they are mainly associated with the Inca civilization due to their widespread use, they were used long before them.
What Kinds of Data Did They Collect?
Although the method of counting on a quipu has been mostly decoded, it remains one of the few verifiable
facts. Specifically, what was actually being counted is largely a mystery. Despite that, some quipu
values have been found to exactly match Spanish census documents from the same regions and times. And one
discovery has tied the social rankings of the people recorded in the census document to correspond to the way
each cord was tied to the quipu. Other quipu used by the Incas seem to point to keeping track of
who had paid "taxes" of food, livestock, and other goods. Still more theories include recording planetary
movement and seasons, months and days.
An absence of a knot indicates the number zero; the native South
and Central Americans are considered to be some of the first known civilizations to represent the concept of
zero.
