quipu

American  

[kee-poo, kwip-oo] / ˈki pu, ˈkwɪp u /

Or khipu

noun

1. a device consisting of a cord with knotted strings of various colors attached, used by the ancient Peruvians for recording events, keeping accounts, etc.

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quipu British  

/ ˈkiːpuː, ˈkwɪpuː /

noun

1. a device of the Incas of Peru used to record information, consisting of an arrangement of variously coloured and knotted cords attached to a base cord

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Etymology

Origin of quipu

First recorded in 1695–1705; from Spanish, from Quechua khipu

Example Sentences

By the end of the project, which ran from 2016 to 2018, the quipu included 18 ropes of thread comprised of countless knots.

From Los Angeles Times

Most scholars have focused on the quipu’s administrative function in the Incan empire: Colonial chroniclers describe bureaucrats using quipus to record tribute payments, work schedules, census information, inventories, criminal trials, calendars, routes and ritual sacrifices.

From New York Times

When the ancient Incas wanted to archive tax and census records, they used a device made up of a number of strings called a quipu, which encoded the data in knots.

From Scientific American

A kind of openwork weaving made of knotted cords, or thread, the traditional Andean quipus found in burials may have been used as calculation instruments or memory recorders.

From New York Times

“Spin Spin Triangulene” will also include Ms. Vicuña’s quipus, which are knotted, weblike creations inspired by a centuries-old Inca system of communication.

From New York Times