Knot numbers used as labels for identifying subject matter of a khipu

Knot numbers used as labels for identifying subject matter of a khipu

Blog Article

This investigation presents a new way to look at the numerical khipu, a knotted-string recording device from Pachacamac (Peru), and the types of information it contains.In addition to celestial coordinates, khipu knots apparently pertain to an early form of double-entry accounting.This study hypothesizes that the khipu sample has the recording capacity needed to register double-entry-like accounts.After the identification of its subject matter, the Q10+ TIME RESTORE khipu sample was studied in an attempt to ascertain whether the knot values could represent instructions from the Inca state administration to a local accounting center.

The results indicate that the numerical information in the pairing quadrants (determined by the Crystal chandelier cleaner distribution of S- and Z-knots) should be read from top to bottom along the full length of the string and can then provide certain complementary details regarding the projected corn stocks of the Inca stat.