Inca decimal administration hierarchy. Julia L. Meyerson.The administrators who oversaw this decimal hierarchical administration were
similarly organized in a hierarchical fashion. Each quarter of the empire (suyu;
see respective suyu entries: Antisuyu, Chinchaysuyu, Collasuyu, and
Cuntisuyu) had a head administrator (apu) who served the Inca in Cuzco. The
four quarters of the empire—Tahuantinsuyu—were divided into some 80
provinces, each governed by a tocricoc (overseer), who was responsible for all
administrative matters within his province. The tocricocs were each attended by
a hierarchically arrayed cadre of knot keepers, the quipucamayocs (knot
makers/organizers). The knot keepers were responsible for maintaining local, on-
the-ground records and for sending that information on to the higher-level knot
keepers at provincial accounting centers. The accountants in the provincial