The Inca used which method of record-keeping with knotted cords?

• A. Pictographs
• B. Cuneiform
• C. Glyphs
• D. Quipu

Answer: (D)

Knotted cords called quipu served as the Inca's way to keep records. A quipu consists of a main cord with many attached pendant cords, and the knots tied on these cords encode numbers and sometimes other details like category or location. The numbers are read in base-10, with the knot type and the position along a cord signaling units, tens, hundreds, and so on. This system let administrators track resources, taxes, populations, and other data across the vast empire without a written alphabet. Colors and how cords are arranged can add context, though much about quipu interpretation is still studied by scholars. Pictographs, cuneiform, and glyphs are different writing traditions from other regions, whereas quipu relies on knots and strings for record-keeping.