Few of the world's museums have even one quipu, and probably none has more than two.
In an Inca tomb near Cajamarca, Peru, Francisco Loaysa, of Lima, found an elaborate " quipu," or knotted and decorated cord 16 yards long, used by the Incas as a calculating .
Peace Montessori delves into ancient Inca culture Lisa Zimmermann was a bit baffled Friday when she learned the quipu was used for counting heads of animals. "This is really cool," the second-grader said, running her fingers across a Inca weaving display in the Peace Montessori classroom.
March 11, 2014 - Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Gary Urton in International Herald Tribune We know a great deal of the bureaucracy was occupied in overseeing tribute labor for the state, so I suspect a large percentage of the quipu had to do with labor,Urton said.