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Inca Quipu. Larco Museum Collection.
Inca Quipu. Larco Museum Collection.

Quipu or khipu (sometimes called talking knots) were recording devices used in the Inca Empire and its predecessor societies in the Andean region. The Larco Museum (Museo Larco is located in the Pueblo Libre District in Lima, Peru. The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America. The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. A quipu usually consisted of colored spun and plied thread or strings from llama or alpaca hair. The llama ( Lama glama) is a South American Camelid, widely used as a Pack animal by the Incas and other natives of the Andes The Alpaca ( Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American Camelid. It also consisted of cotton cords with numeric and other values encoded by knots in a base 10 positional system. Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp The decimal ( base ten or occasionally denary) Numeral system has ten as its base. Quipus may have just a few strands, but some have up to 2,000 strands.

Quipu is the Spanish spelling and the most common spelling in English. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Khipu (pronounced [ˈkʰipu]) is the word for "knot" in Cusco Quechua (the native Inca language); the kh is an aspirated k. KNOT (1450 AM) is a commercial Classic Country music Radio station in Prescott Arizona, broadcasting to the Flagstaff - Prescott Qusqu-Qullaw ( Spanish also Cusco-Collao) is a variety of the Quechua language, spoken throughout southern Peru (departments of Cusco Description Voiceless consonants are produced with the Vocal cords open and voiced consonants are produced when the vocal folds are fractionally closed In most Quechua varieties, the term is kipu.

Contents

Information recorded

It's generally thought that during the development of the system, there was no attempt to represent phonetic sounds as most writing systems do. The quipu have yet to be fully deciphered, and there are a variety of theories as to how much information they contain. There is currently a theory put forward by Gary Urton that the Khipus represented a binary system capable of recording phonological or logographic data. Gary Urton is the Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies at Harvard University. Phonology ( Greek φωνή (phōnē voice sound + λόγος (lógos word speech subject of discussion is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning A logogram, or logograph, is a Grapheme which represents a word or a Morpheme (a meaningful unit of language

Quipucamayocs

Representation of a quipu
Representation of a quipu

Quipucamayocs (Quechua khipu kamayuq, "khipu-authority"), the accountants of Tawantinsuyu, created and deciphered the quipu knots. The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America. Quipucamayocs were capable of performing simple mathematics, basic arithmetic operations such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing information for the indigenous people. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and Arithmetic or arithmetics (from the Greek word αριθμός = number is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics used by almost everyone Addition is the mathematical process of putting things together Subtraction is one of the four basic Arithmetic operations it is the inverse of Addition, meaning that if we start with any number and add any number and then subtract In Mathematics, especially in elementary Arithmetic, division is an arithmetic operation which is the inverse of Multiplication. The term Indigenous Peoples or autochthonous peoples can be used to describe any Ethnic group who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest historical This included keeping track of mita, a form of taxation. Mita ( Quechua: mit'a) was mandatory public service in the society of the Inca Empire. The Quipucamayocs also tracked the type of labor being performed, maintained a record of economic output, and ran a census that counted everyone from infants to "old blind men over 80". Output in Economics is the total value of all of the goods and services produced in an entity's economy A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population The system was also used to keep track of the calendar. According to Guaman Poma Quipucamayocs could "read" the Khipu with their eyes closed.

Conquest

Quipucamayocs were not the only members of Inca society to use the quipu. Quipu or khipu (sometimes called talking knots) were recording devices used in the Inca Empire and its predecessor societies in the Andean Inca historians used the quipu when telling the Spanish about Tahuantinsuyu history (whether they recorded important numbers or actually contained the story itself is unknown). Members of the ruling class were usually taught to read the quipu as part of their education. (See: Inca education)

In the early years of the Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish officials often relied on the quipu to settle disputes over local tribute payments or goods production. Inca education during the time of the Inca Empire was divided into two principal spheres education for the upper classes and education for the general population The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was a process through which a group of forty (40 Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro succeeded in toppling the Inca A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or as was often case in historical contexts of submission Also, Spanish chroniclers concluded that quipus were used basically as mnemonic devices to communicate and record information in the numerical format. Quipucamayocs could be summoned to court, where their bookkeeping was considered legal documentation of past payments.

Suppression and destruction

The Spanish quickly suppressed the use of the quipu. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Conquistadores realized the Quipucamayocs often remained loyal to their original rulers rather than the King of Spain, and Quipucamayocs could lie about the contents of a message. This article is about the Spanish explorer soldiers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriesfor other uses see Conquistador (disambiguation A Conquistador The Conquistadores were also attempting to convert the indigenous people to Catholicism. As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described Anything representing the Inca religion was considered idolatry and an attempt to disregard Catholic conversion. The belief system of the Incas was Henotheistic: Inti, their Sun God was the most important god although other deities were also worshipped Idolatry is usually defined as Worship of any Cult image, Idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. Many Conquistadores considered the quipu to be idolatrous and therefore destroyed many of them.

Status today

Today only 600 Inca quipu survive, and about 15 or 20 were transcribed as Spanish colonial documents, but no correlation with the transcriptions has yet been found. More primitive uses of the quipu have also continued in the Peruvian highlands. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Some historians believe only the Quipucamayocs that made the specific quipu could read it. If this is true it cannot be considered a form of writing, but rather a mnemonic device. Many historians, however, have attempted to convert the quipu into a decipherable language because the Tawantinsuyu was such a powerful Empire prior to its conquest by Spain; learning more about the Inca side of the story could possibly reveal an entirely new link to the past. The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America.

In 1994, Frank Salomon conducted a study in the Peruvian village of Tupicocha, where khipus are still an important part of the social life of the village. This was the only village where khipus, with a similar structure to pre-Columbian examples, still function in the government, although the villagers do not associate their khipus with Inka artifacts, and they do not change the knots (Salomon 2004).

Nowadays the word Kipu is also used in the Quechua translation of Windows XP. Quechua ( Runa Simi) is a Native American language of South America. Windows XP is a family of 32-bit and 64-bit Operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on Personal computers including home and The word Kipu stands for 'File' within the well known menu structure in Windows.

The encoding system

Marcia and Robert Ascher, after analyzing several hundred quipus, have shown that most information on the quipus is numeric, and these numbers can be read. Each cluster of knots is a digit, and there are three main types of knots: simple overhand knots; "long knots" consisting of an overhand knot with one or more additional turns; and figure-of-eight knots. The overhand knot is one of the most fundamental knots and forms the basis of many others including the simple noose, Overhand loop, Angler's loop, A turn is a component of a Knot. Turns can be made around objects through rings or around the Standing part of the rope itself The figure-of-eight knot is a type of Knot. It is very important in both Sailing and Rock climbing as a method of stopping ropes from running out of retaining In the Aschers' system a fourth type of knot--figure-of-eight knot with an extra twist--is referred to as "EE". A number is represented as a sequence of knot clusters in base 10.

For example, if 4s represents four simple knots, 3L represents a long knot with three turns, E represents a figure-of-eight knot and X represents a space:

This reading can be confirmed by a fortunate fact: quipus regularly contain sums in a systematic way. For instance, a cord may contain the sum of the next n cords, and this relationship is repeated throughout the quipu. Sometimes there are sums of sums as well. Such a relationship would be very improbable if the knots were incorrectly read.

Some data items are not numbers but what Ascher and Ascher call number labels. They are still composed of digits, but the resulting number seems to be used as a code, much as we use numbers to identify individuals, places, or things. Lacking the context for individual quipus, it is difficult to guess what any given code might mean. Other aspects of the quipu could have communicated information as well: color coding, relative placement of cords, spacing, and the structure of cords and sub-cords.

Some have argued that far more than numeric information is present and that the quipu are a writing system. A writing system is a type of Symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in Language. This is especially important as there is no surviving record of a written Quechua from before the Spanish invasion, either because there was no writing system, the Spanish destroyed all records, or because the Incas hid their records from other civilizations or cultures. The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was a process through which a group of forty (40 Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro succeeded in toppling the Inca

In 2003, while checking the geometric signs that appear on drawings of Inca dresses from the "First Brand Chronicle and Fair Government" written by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala in 1695, William Burns Glynn found a pattern that seems to decipher some words from quipus by matching knots to colors of strings. Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala (c 1550 &ndash after 1616 best known as Guaman Poma or Huaman Poma, was an indigenous Peruvian who became disillusioned

The August 12, 2005 edition of the journal Science includes a report "Khipu Accounting in Ancient Peru" by anthropologist Gary Urton and mathematician Carrie J. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Science is the Academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is considered one of the world's most prestigious Scientific Gary Urton is the Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies at Harvard University. Brezine. Their work may represent the first identification of a quipu element for a non-numeric concept, a sequence of three figure-of-eight knots at the start of the quipu that seems to be a unique signifier. It could be a toponym for the city Puruchuco (near Lima), or the name of the khipu keeper who made it, or its subject matter, or even a time designator. Toponymy refers to the scientific study of place-names ( toponyms) their origins meanings use and Typology. Lima is the Capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers on a coast overlooking

Locations of khipus

According to the Khipu Database Project [1] undertaken by Harvard professor Gary Urton and his colleague Carrie Brezine, 751 khipus have been reported to exist across the globe. Gary Urton is the Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies at Harvard University. Their whereabouts range from Europe to North and South America. Most are housed in museums outside of their native countries, however some do reside in their native locations under the care of the descendants of those who made the mystery knot records. The largest collection of all is found in western Europe at the Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin, Germany with a reported 298 khipus. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The next largest collection in Europe can be seen at the Museum für Völkerkunde [2] in Munich. Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Pachacamac [3] in Peru and the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia, Antropologia e Historia [4] in Lima, Peru each house 35 khipus and the Centro Mallqui [5] in Leymebamba, Peru holds a collection of 32. The temple of Pachacamac is an archaeological site 40 km southeast of Lima, Peru in the Valley of the Lurín River. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Lima is the Capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers on a coast overlooking The Museo Temple Radicati, Lima, Peru houses 26, the Museo de Ica, Ica, Peru has 25 and the Museo Puruchuco,[6] Ate, Peru has 23. While patrimonial khipu collections have not been accounted for in this database, their numbers are likely to be unknown. One prominent patrimonial collection held by the Rapazians of Rapaz, Peru was recently researched by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, Frank Salomon. The meaning of the word professor ( Latin: professor, person who professes to be an expert in some art or science teacher of highest rank) varies The Anthropology/Archaeology department at the University of California at Santa Barbara also holds one quipu. The University of California Santa Barbara ( UCSB) is a selective research-oriented public university located on the Pacific Ocean in Santa Barbara County California

Preservation issues

In preservation (library and archival science), theory and practice go hand and glove in maintaining artifacts and the intellectual record while providing access for future generations. Preservation is a branch of Library and information science concerned with maintaining or restoring access to artifacts documents and records through the study diagnosis treatment Issues of preservation of khipus are addressed using the most appropriate techniques that will allow the artifact to endure with the least amount of artifactual degradation as possible, for years to come. Museums, archives and special collections have adopted preservation guidelines from textile practices. A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development open to the public which acquires conserves researches communicates and exhibits the An archive refers to a collection of historical records and also refers to the location in which these records are kept A textile is a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial Fibres often referred to as thread or Yarn. Khipus are made of fibers either from a protein, such as spun and plied thread like wool or hair from camelids such as alpacas, llamas and camels or from a cellulose like cotton. Fiber or fibre is a class of Materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces similar to lengths of thread. Proteins are large Organic compounds made of Amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by Peptide bonds between the Carboxyl Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles of animals in the Caprinae family principally sheep, but the hair of certain species Hair is a keratinised protein filament that grows through the epidermis from follicles deep within the Dermis. Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only living family in the suborder Tylopoda. The Alpaca ( Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American Camelid. The llama ( Lama glama) is a South American Camelid, widely used as a Pack animal by the Incas and other natives of the Andes Camels are Even-toed ungulates within the Genus Camelus. The Dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and the Cellulose is an Organic compound with the formula, a Polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β(1→4 Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp The knotted strings of the khipus were often made with "elaborate system of knotted cords, dyed in various colors, the significance of which was known to the magistrates" [7] Preservation of color, natural or dyed, is an issue that can not be reversed if fading has already occurred and may indicate further damage to the fibers. KNOT (1450 AM) is a commercial Classic Country music Radio station in Prescott Arizona, broadcasting to the Flagstaff - Prescott A magistrate is a judicial officer In Common law systems a magistrate usually has limited authority to administer and enforce the Law. Colors can darken with the onset of dust as well as with the use of certain dyes and mordants. A dye can generally be described as a Colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied Khipus have been found with adornments such as animal shells attached to the cords and these non textile materials may include additional preservation steps.

All textiles are damaged by ultraviolet (UV) light. A textile is a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial Fibres often referred to as thread or Yarn. Ultraviolet ( UV) light is Electromagnetic radiation with a Wavelength shorter than that of Visible light, but longer than X-rays This damage can include fading and weakening of the fiberous material. Environmental controls are used to monitor and control temperature, humidity and light exposure to storage areas. Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean Relative humidity. Light, or visible light, is Electromagnetic radiation of a Wavelength that is visible to the Human eye (about 400–700 The heating, ventilating and air conditioning, or HVAC systems, of buildings that house khipu knot records are usually automatically regulated. HVAC (pronounced either "H-V-A-C" or occasionally " H-vak " is an Initialism or Acronym that stands for " Heating Relative humidity should be 60% or lower with cool temperatures to compliment. High temperatures can increase embrittlement and deterioration of the khipu fibers. Damp conditions and high humidity levels can cause unwanted conditions when a protein rich material is present. As with all textile, cool, clean, dry and dark environments are most suitable. When khipus are on display their exposure to normal ambient conditions is usually minimized and closely monitored. [8]

Khipus are also closely monitored for mold, as well as insects and their larvae. WikipediaManual_of_Style#National_varieties_of_English --> Molds (or Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described In Roman mythology, the larvae or lemures (singular lemur) were the spectres or spirits of the dead they were the malignant version of the As with all textiles, these are major issues. Fumigation may not be a recommended method for fiber textiles displaying mold or with insect infestations, although it is common practice for ridding paper of mold and insects. Fumigation is a method of Pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous Pesticides to suffocate or poison the pests within Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging

Storage is often a time when damage can occur to a collection. The more accessible items are during storage, the higher the chances of early detection. [8] Storing khipus horizontally on boards covered with a neutral pH paper (paper that is neither acid or alkaline to prevent potential acid transfer is a preservation technique that extends the life of a collection. pH is the measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a Solution. In Computer science, ACID ( Atomicity Consistency Isolation Durability) is a set of properties that guarantee that Database transactions are In Chemistry, an alkali (from Arabic: Al-Qaly القلي القالي) is a basic, ionic salt of an Alkali metal Extensive handling of khipus can also increase the risk of further damage. The fibers can be abraided by rubbing against each other or for those attached to sticks or rods by their own weight if held in an upright position. [9]

When Gary Urton, professor of Anthropology at Harvard was asked "Are they [khipu] fragile?" He answered, "some of them are, and you can't touch them--they would break or turn into dust. Gary Urton is the Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies at Harvard University. Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of Many are quite well preserved, and you can actually study them without doing them any harm. Of course, any time you touch an ancient fabric like that, you're doing some damage, but these strings are generally quite durable. " [10]

Ruth Shady, a Peruvian Archeologist has discovered a khipu believed to be around 5000 years old in the coastal city of Caral. Ruth Shady Solís' (born in Callao, Peru on 29th December 1946) is a Peruvian anthropologist and archaeologist Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos This article is about the archaeological site For the civilization it belonged to see Norte Chico civilization Caral is a large settlement It was discovered quite well preserved with "brown cotton strings wound around thin sticks", along with "a series of offerings, including mysterious fiber balls of different sizes wrapped in 'nets' and pristine reed baskets. Piles of raw cotton - still uncombed and containing seeds, though turned a dirty brown by the ages - and a ball of cotton thread" were also found preserved. The reason for the well preserved khipu and other artifacts, can be attributed to the arid condition of the 11,500 feet elevated location of Caral. In general terms the Climate of a local or region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available Water, to the extent of hindering

Conservation

Even when prevention and stabilization attempts have occurred, corrective care may still be required. Conservators in the field of library science have a skill set to handle a variety of situations. Library science is an Interdisciplinary Science incorporating the Humanities, Law and Applied science to study topics related to If khipus are to be conserved close to their native origin or birth place, local camelid or wool in natural colors can be obtained and used to mend breaks and splits within the cords. [11] Assessment of each individual cord, even though some khipu have been recorded to have hundreds of cords, is required and conserved individually. Khipu cords can be "mechanically cleaned with brushes, small tools and light vacuuming". [11] Just as the application of fungicides are not recommended for ridding khipus of mold, neither are the use of solvents for cleaning and ridding khipus of dirt. Fungicides are Chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill or inhibit fungi or fungal spores A solvent is a liquid or gas that dissolves a solid liquid or gaseous Solute, resulting in a Solution. Cleanliness is the absence of dirt including Dust, Stains bad smells and Garbage. Rosa Choque Gonzales and Rosalia Choque Gonzales, conservators from southern Peru, worked to conserve the Rapaz patrimonial khipus in the Andean village of Rapaz, Peru. These khipus had undergone repair in the past, so this conservator team used new local camelid and wool fibers to spin around the area under repair in a similar fashion to the earlier repairs found on the khipu. [11]

Notes

  1. ^ Khipu Database Project.
  2. ^ State Museum of Ethnography.
  3. ^ Museo de Pachacamac.
  4. ^ Museo Nacional de Arqueologia, Antropologia e Historia.
  5. ^ Centro Mallqui.
  6. ^ Museo Puruchuco.
  7. ^ Bingham, Hiram (1948). Hiram Bingham, formally Hiram Bingham III, ( November 19, 1875 June 6, 1956) was an American academic explorer and politician Lost City of the Incas, The Story of Machu Picchu and its Builders’. . New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce.  
  8. ^ a b Conservation Register.
  9. ^ Piechota, Dennis (1978). "Storage Containerization Archaeological Textile Collections". Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 18: 10-18.  
  10. ^ Conversations String Theorist.
  11. ^ a b c Salomon, Frank & Peters,, Renata (2007), 'Governance and Conservation of the Rapaz Khipu Patrimony. ', Forthcoming.  

Quipu in popular culture

In literature

The treasure hunt of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novel Inca Gold centers on the decryption of a quipu's message. The game There are many different types of treasure hunt games which can have one or more players who try to find hidden articles locations or places by using a series Clive Eric Cussler (born July 15, 1931 in Aurora Illinois) is an American Adventure novelist and marine archaeologist Dirk Pitt is a Fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure Novels written by Clive Cussler. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Inca Gold is a novel written by Clive Cussler. First published in 1994, it is the twelfth book in Cussler's Dirk Pitt series

In The Stone Dance of the Chameleon, the blinded wise ones use quipu to store all their knowledge in a vast unlit library. The Stone Dance of the Chameleon is a fantasy trilogy by Ricardo Pinto.

In "Letters from a Peruvian Woman", Zilia treasures her quipus.

In Ian Watson's The Martian Inca, a renascent Inca civilisation deciphers the quipu coding scheme, and the modern Inca revolutionary movement uses quipu for secret communications. Ian Watson can refer to Ian Watson (born 1943 a British science fiction author

There is an Argentinian publishing house called Ediciones Quipu.

In film

Several imagined examples of quipu usage occur in the animated series The Mysterious Cities of Gold. also known as Esteban and the Seven Cities of Gold or abbreviated to MCoG by the fans is an Animated television series co-produced by DiC Entertainment

In the April 27, 2007 episode of Numb3rs ("The Art of Reckoning"), a character uses quipu to keep a private journal. Events 1124 - David I becomes King of Scotland. 1296 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. NUMB3RS (pronounced Numbers) is an American Television show produced by brothers Ridley and Tony Scott. He misidentifies the quipu as Aztec in origin. Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political

See also

References

External links

Discovery of "Puruchuco" toponym

The Internet Archive ( IA) is a Nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining an on-line Library and archive of Web and

Dictionary

quipu

-noun

  1. a recording device, used by the Incas, consisting of intricate knotted cords
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