Quipu (Khipu): What the Inca Knot Records Were and How to Read Them

What Is a Quipu and What Does the Word Mean?

Quipu: an Andean recording device made of knotted strings, from the Quechua word khipu, meaning knot. Inca administrators used quipus to store numerical information for the empire, from population counts to storehouse contents. Some scholars think quipus may also have encoded names or narratives, though that remains unproven.

How Is a Quipu Built? Cords, Colors and Knots

A quipu is built from one primary cord with many pendant cords tied along it, and some pendants carry subsidiary cords. Makers spun cotton or alpaca and llama fiber, sometimes dyed in several colors. Color, spacing, the direction of each knot and the way cords were attached all likely carried meaning.

• Primary cord: the thick top cord that holds everything.
• Pendant cords: hanging strings where most knots sit.
• Subsidiary cords: smaller strings tied to pendants.
• Top cords: occasional cords pointing up, sometimes holding totals.
• Color: possibly marking categories such as places or goods.
• Knot direction: an S or Z tie that may signal meaning.

How Did the Incas Record Numbers on a Quipu?

The Incas recorded numbers on a quipu with a base-10 positional system, like the decimal system Americans use. Clusters of knots near the bottom of a cord meant units, the next level up meant tens, then hundreds and thousands. A missing cluster in a position served as zero, decoded by Leland Locke in 1912.

For example, a cord with three single knots at the hundreds level, none at the tens level and a long knot of five turns at the bottom would read 305.

Who Were the Quipucamayocs?

Quipucamayocs were the trained Inca officials who made, kept and read quipus. They worked at every level of government, from villages to the capital in Cusco, recording tribute, labor duties, harvests and census results. Spanish chroniclers reported that quipucamayocs could recite the meaning of their cords from memory.

This record keeping helped the Inca state manage roads, storehouses and the huge llama and alpaca herds described in our llama vs alpaca guide. Learn how the empire organized its capital in our Cusco Peru guide.

Were Quipus a Form of Writing?

Whether quipus were a form of writing is still debated. Most surviving quipus clearly record numbers, but some do not fit numerical patterns, and Spanish accounts describe quipus used for history, laws and songs. Researchers such as Gary Urton and Sabine Hyland have explored possible narrative or name-based encoding, without a full decipherment.

Communities in the Peruvian Andes, such as San Juan de Collata and San Cristóbal de Rapaz, preserved later khipus, which give researchers rare clues. The Spanish Third Council of Lima in 1583 ordered some quipus destroyed, which reduced the surviving record.

How Many Quipus Survive and Where Can You See One?

Roughly 1,000 quipus are known to survive, most found in burials on Peru's dry coast and now held in museums in Peru, Europe and the US. In Lima, the Museo Larco displays quipus. Some museums in Cusco and the American Museum of Natural History in New York also hold examples.

Collections and displays change, so check a museum's current exhibits before visiting. Plan a Lima stop on your way to Cusco with our Lima to Machu Picchu guide, and explore wider Inca history in our Machu Picchu history guide.

Did Other Andean Cultures Use Quipus Before the Incas?

Yes. The Wari culture, which flourished in the Peruvian Andes from about 600 to 1000 AD, made knotted cord records centuries before the Incas. Wari examples often use wrapped colored thread rather than the knot clusters typical of Inca quipus. The Incas adopted and standardized the tradition across their empire.

Some researchers have proposed far older cord records at Caral on the Peruvian coast, but that interpretation is disputed. See how Inca builders worked in our Machu Picchu facts guide.

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Original quipus survived in desert tombs, but the empire they served was run from Cusco; learn more in our Cusco Peru travel guide and Machu Picchu history guide. Herd counts often recorded animals covered in our llama vs alpaca guide.