Quipu Accounting System

Timeline

1. 300–1200Peruvian coast and highlands · PeruCivilizations such as Wari already used knotted cords to record storehouse and labor information, laying precedent for the spread of quipu technique across the Andes.
2. c. 1320–1438Cusco · Cusco RegionThe Kingdom of Cusco institutionalized quipucamayoc duties in the 14th century, recording tribute, population and storehouses with knotted cords, preparing a central archival system for the imperial expansion period.
3. c. 1438–1600Throughout the Inca Empire · AndesThe Inca Empire established a network of quipucamayocs throughout its territory, regularly aggregating provincial data to Cusco; after the Spanish conquest, colonial authorities ordered large numbers of quipus burned, and surviving specimens became objects of decoding research.