Gary Urton. The investigator from Harvard University reveals the latest results of his investigations of the meaning of the quipu.
As I explained in this previous post, the quipu (or khipu) is a fascinating communication device used in the pre-Columbian world for everything from accounting and record keeping to, it is believed, recording detailed text… names, words, a full written language not in symbols but in lengths of string and knots tied at points along them.
June 30, 2009 | Archaeology, News, Opinion
Chaskis (Chasquis) were the famous Inca messengers, highly athletic runners who were capable of running great distances along the Inca’s extensive network of roads called the Qhapaq Ñam – the royal roads.
June 14, 2008 | Culture & History, Opinion
It is often said that the Incas and their forebearers didn’t have a writing system — such statements were often made by their conquerors to belittle them. This belief has slowly become the norm. But it seems they did have a system, they just wrote down what they wanted to say with knots on a string rather than symbols on paper. You can see examples in museums across Peru and collections throughout the world.
May 18, 2007 | Culture & History
