quipu

Everyday

(history) A set of knotted coloured strings used by the Inca people of South America to record numbers and information, such as how many people, animals or goods there were. tree →

In the lessons

In history and maths lessons about the Incas, the quipu shows that a writing-free civilisation could keep records: the type and position of knots stand for units, tens, hundreds (a base-10 system), and the colours for different things. Officials called quipucamayocs read them. Phrases: «Inca quipu», «knotted strings», «record numbers».

Examples

• The Incas used a quipu to count llamas. tree →
• Each knot on the quipu stood for a number. tree →
• A knot near the end of the string showed units; higher up meant tens and hundreds. tree →
• We made our own quipu from coloured wool. tree →
• Experts are still trying to work out if quipus recorded words too. tree →
• The quipu helped officials keep track of taxes. tree →

Note

Also spelled «khipu». Plural «quipus». Pronounced KEE-poo. Maths: the quipu uses place value in base 10, like our numbers, with an empty space for zero. Not an English word in origin — it comes from Quechua, the Inca language.