Quipu (knot-record) System

Timeline

1. 1438–1532Cusco · PeruKnot-record archives existed in the Inca capital and provinces; quipucamayocs recorded population, storehouses, military mobilization and calendrical information using different colors, cord strands and knot types, supporting long-distance governance of an empire without writing.
2. 1561–1570Lima · LimaSpanish colonial officials, while compiling tribute and labor accounts, still relied on Inca descendants who understood knots to interpret old quipu records, comparing them with written census registers to provide a data foundation for colonial administrative reorganization.
3. 1570–1650Andean provinces · AndesAs the Toledo tribute census was formalized in written Spanish archives, quipus were gradually marginalized in official administration, yet preserved in some community rituals and local memory, becoming precious material remains for studying the pre-colonial Andean knowledge system.