The Khipu Database Project
At Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, researchers manage an important effort to decode the Inca Empire's unique data storage system: the khipu. The Inca, who governed a vast South American territory without a graphic writing system, used these knotted cords to administer their empire. Specialists called khipukamayuqs, or knot-makers, could create and interpret the khipus, which recorded census data, tribute payments, storehouse inventories, and possibly historical narratives. The Khipu Database Project, started in 2002 by Professor Gary Urton, aims to catalog every known khipu from collections worldwide. The database contains detailed records of over 600 of the approximately 1,400 khipus known to exist.
The devices consist of a main primary cord with numerous thinner "pendant" cords attached, which in turn can have their own subsidiaries. Information is encoded through multiple variables. The construction uses materials like cotton and camelid fibers (llama or alpaca). About two-thirds of surviving khipus appear to be quantitative, using a base-10 system. Knots tied at different levels on a cord represent place values for ones, tens, and hundreds. A significant portion of khipus are non-numerical and remain undeciphered. Researchers believe these "narrative" khipus may contain stories, names, or other linguistic information.