Pre-Inca Era Khipus (!!)

Khipus are often associated with Incas. However, it may be of interest, that Khipus from pre-Inca times have been recovered.

Several articles (in Spanish) about pre-Inca khipus can be found in the anthology by C. Mackey, et al, eds, Quipu y Yupana: Coleccion de Escritos (Lima: Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia, 1990).

And several articles about a recent finding of pre-Inca era khipu (perhaps as much as 5000 years old) at the Caral archiological site in Peru can be found at:

http://agutie.homestead.com/files/Quipu_B.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1418372.htm

Note that a characteristic of these pre-Inca era khipus appears to be that the khipus' pendant chords are wound around a (hollow?) center and thus have a tubular appearance. In spanish khipus of this type are called "quipus de canutos."

Dennis
(moderator)