What is quipu?

• A. Knots and strings that were used to send messages throughout the empire.
• B. A form of calendar for planting cycles.
• C. A type of ship used for long voyages.
• D. A measurement system based on rope lengths.

Answer: (D)

Quipu is a system of knotted cords used by the Inca to record information. Numbers and quantities were encoded with different knots on strings, and the arrangement of cords organized data such as censuses, tributes, and inventories. Because its primary purpose is to quantify and track data through rope and knots, it functions as a rope-based measuring and accounting device. It’s not a tool for sending messages across an empire, nor a calendar, nor a ship. The idea being tested is recognizing quipu as a method of recording quantitative information using cords and knots, rather than those other functions.