Ancient Inca Quipu

Quipu, meaning ’knot’ in Quechua, is an ancient Andean recording device made from spun cotton or camelid fibers. It features a branching structure with knots and colored cords to encode data such as census details, taxes, and mnemonic information for stories and songs. Smaller quipus were combined into larger ones for centralized data. Often buried with their interpreters, these administrators, known as qulpucamayocs, were trained by the Incan empire.