kipu

Kipu (also quipu or khipu) is a system of knotted cords used for recording information in the Andean region, most notably by the Inca and their pre-Columbian predecessors. It is also spelled in various transliterations such as quipu and khipu. The device consists of a primary cord with multiple subsidiary cords and pendant cords, made from cotton or camelid fiber. The colors, lengths, and knot types are all believed to carry meaning.

Kipu served primarily as a numerical and administrative tool. The knots and their arrangement encode quantities, with digits represented by different knot forms and the cords’ positions indicating place value. Pendant cords often carried the bulk of numerical data, while the main cord functioned as an organizational spine. Kipu was used for censuses, tribute and labor obligations (mit’a), resource inventories, calendars, and other state administrative tasks. Some researchers also suspect that certain quipu contained narrative or documentary information, but the degree to which this reflects a full writing system is debated.

Historical context and interpretation remain complex. Kipu were widely used during the Inca Empire (15th–16th centuries) and by earlier Andean cultures. Following Spanish conquest, the practice declined, and many quipu were dispersed to church and museum collections. In modern scholarship, quipu are studied as sophisticated recordkeeping devices that illustrate administrative sophistication in the Andes. Some theories propose more complex codes or even proto-writing, but the numerical function of most surviving quipu is well established.