A quipu was a complex Incan recording device made out of knotted multicoloured string. It was used to calculate numbers and record laws and events and was vital to the survival of the Incan civilisation. The information was extremely useful when the Incans were under attack as it meant they could relay consistent messages between villages.
The main string that would suspend all the other strings would record timescale and be black in colour. Neutral strings were hung from this, and knotted to these would be various coloured threads. Many threads and knots would indicate a long time had passed. The colour red would be used during the record of events to refer to the current emperor and knots in this colour would represent his fighting men, as red was considered to be the colour of the Inca. Religion would be referred to with blue thread and chieftains by purple thread. White and yellow threads would tell of a celebration. The absence of any colour meant that there was no activity of this kind.
To record property and objects, each string would represent a different category, such as cattle or beans. Knots were tied into the plain strings to denote multiples of ten. The knots towards the end of the string would represent the number one. The highest knot would be at the top of the string, and would denote 10, 000. The string had to be long enough to incorporate all the numbers possible. This means that nine of each knot had to fit between each multiple of ten. An inventory of all possessions and people would be made annually in this way.
The system was so complex, the Incans used specially trained readers called quipucamayu to look after the quipu and reveal its information.
The main string that would suspend all the other strings would record timescale and be black in colour. Neutral strings were hung from this, and knotted to these would be various coloured threads. Many threads and knots would indicate a long time had passed. The colour red would be used during the record of events to refer to the current emperor and knots in this colour would represent his fighting men, as red was considered to be the colour of the Inca. Religion would be referred to with blue thread and chieftains by purple thread. White and yellow threads would tell of a celebration. The absence of any colour meant that there was no activity of this kind.
To record property and objects, each string would represent a different category, such as cattle or beans. Knots were tied into the plain strings to denote multiples of ten. The knots towards the end of the string would represent the number one. The highest knot would be at the top of the string, and would denote 10, 000. The string had to be long enough to incorporate all the numbers possible. This means that nine of each knot had to fit between each multiple of ten. An inventory of all possessions and people would be made annually in this way.
The system was so complex, the Incans used specially trained readers called quipucamayu to look after the quipu and reveal its information.
