Quipu
Khipu · Talking Knots
Recording devices fashioned from strings and knots, historically used by a number of cultures particularly in the region of Andean South America.
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Origin
Quipus (also spelled khipu) emerged in the Andean region around 2500 BCE, though the first unambiguous examples date to the 1st millennium CE during the Wari Empire. The Inca Empire later perfected the system, using knotted cotton or wool cords in a decimal positional system to record census data, tribute obligations, and storehouse inventories. Specialized officials called khipu kamayuq maintained these records at Cuzco.
Updated February 22, 2026