quipu
Andean string calculator
A quipu is a recording device used by the Inca and other Andean peoples, consisting of colored strings or cords with knots tied at intervals.
The knots encoded numerical and possibly narrative information—inventories, census data, tribute records.
Spanish colonizers destroyed most quipus, and their full meaning remains only partially deciphered.
Quechua name for realm
- CuzcoFormer Incan imperial seat
- QuechuaAndean indigenous language family
- Machu PicchuIncan sanctuary in Peru
- storehouseBuilding for stored goods
Technique for retention
- tallyRecorded count
- countingDetermining quantity sequentially
- numericalRelating to figures
- decimalTenths-based notation
accounting · census · tribute · inventory · calendar · narrative · message · encoding
Flexible twisted strand
- stringSlender fiber or character sequence
- knotTied rope fastening
- pendantSuspended jewelry ornament
- fiberPlant-based digestive aid
wool · cotton · camelid · alpaca · llama · twist · ply · loop
Human-made historical object
- excavationAct of unearthing
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
- museumPublic exhibit space
- specimenIndividual for examination
chronicle · Locke · decipherment · interpretation · colonial · Spanish conquest · Pizarro · destruction
Peruvian archaeological culture
- continuityUninterrupted progression or coherence
- cultural heritageInherited collective traditions
- indigenous knowledgeLocally transmitted ancestral understanding
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
Tawantinsuyu
Quechua name for realm
- CuzcoFormer Incan imperial seat
- QuechuaAndean indigenous language family
- Machu PicchuIncan sanctuary in Peru
mnemonic
Technique for retention
decimal · accounting · census · tribute · inventory · calendar · narrative · message · encoding · positional
cord
Flexible twisted strand
fiber · wool · cotton · camelid · alpaca · llama · twist · ply · loop · cluster
artifact
Human-made historical object
- excavationAct of unearthing
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
- museumPublic exhibit space
specimen · chronicle · Locke · decipherment · interpretation · colonial · Spanish conquest · Pizarro · destruction · surviving
Nazca
Peruvian archaeological culture
- continuityUninterrupted progression or coherence
- cultural heritageInherited collective traditions
- indigenous knowledgeLocally transmitted ancestral understanding
quipuclay tablet
Inscribed earthen slab
papyrus scroll · parchment · cuneiform tablet · manuscript · codex
quipualphabet
Language's letter system
writing system · script · hieroglyphics · cuneiform · notation
quipuRosetta Stone
Decree in three scripts
cuneiform · Egyptian hieroglyphics · Phoenician alphabet · Dead Sea Scrolls