The Quipu as a Visible Language

Abstract

The Inca are often cited as a civilization "without writing." But writing is more than a record of language sounds placed upon familiar materials. The media of the Inca were devices made of cotton cords that are called quipus. This introduction to the quipu is based upon a recent study of most of the world’s known quipus now spread throughout three continents and concentrates on what we infer to be the way the physical elements of quipus are combined to create a symbolic structure; i.e., the representation of numbers, the expression of N-dimensional arrays, and hierarchical configurations. A discussion of the connections between the quipus and civilization includes: 1) cotton as a material which carried its own message for the Inca; 2) reflections of the quipu in non-media domains of Inca civilization; and 3) the purpose of writing in early civilization.