Quipus: an accounting/writing system.

The quipus (khipu, meaning "knot") were the sophisticated record-keeping system of the Inca Empire. Was it writing or just accounting? For years we were told that quipus were only used to count potatoes and corn. But today, science says they could be a complex writing system that we can't yet fully decipher.

Today we know that the twisting pattern of the threads, their color, the distance between the cords tied to the main string, the location, shape, and direction of the knots, as well as the number of knots, were variables that allowed for data recording. In the quipus, no detail was accidental; everything contained information. Undoubtedly, they constituted a complex system that allowed for the easy storage of all kinds of data: administrative (demographic censuses, tax collection), calendrical, genealogical, historical, and religious.


If it weren't for the Spaniards who considered this accounting/writing system as "pagan", we would probably know more about it.