The Ancient Quipu, Figure 45

What it is

This is Figure 45 from Leslie Leland Locke's 1912 work on quipus, an Andean knotted-cord record. The image is a black-and-white photograph of a horizontal main cord with several pendant cords hanging down. Each pendant has tassel ends and several knots are tied along the cords. One cord ends in a frayed tip at the upper right. The record dates the work to 4 January 1912.

Why it matters

Quipus were the Inca method of keeping records with knotted cords. Studies like Locke's, published in 1912, helped record how these objects were built. Quipus were part of the administration of the empire Atahualpa ruled, so this figure provides context on that system. It is a modern scholarly illustration, not an object from Atahualpa's time.

Look closer

• How are the pendant cords attached to the main cord, and what might that structure suggest?
• Why would a 1912 scholar include a close photograph like this in a book?
• What does a single figure leave out of the full record a quipu could hold?