Three major types of knots were tied into quipu pendant, subsidiary, and top
cords. The three knot types are referred to as figure-eight knots, whose final
shape is indicated by the name of this knot—long knots, which are made by
turning the cord between two to nine times inside the body of the knot; and
single or overhand knots, which were used to sign increasing powers of 10.
These three knot types were central elements in the signing of quantitative
information in the decimal-based system of imperial administration (see
Administration, Decimal). That is, the three types of knots were tied in tiered
clusters along pendant cords to indicate values going from units, at the bottom of
cords, to increasing powers of ten, the latter of which were signed by
successively higher tiered clusters.
A watercolor portrait of a quipucamayoc
and his quipu in the illustrated chronicle
of Martín de Murúa. Murúa, Martín de.
Códice Murúa—Historia y Genealogía de
los Reyes Incas del Perú (Códice Galvin).
Madrid: Testimonio Compañía Editorial,
S. A., 2004 [1590–1598].The cord-keepers, quipucamayocs, of the imperial administration were
organized in a hierarchy, from those who served the court in Cuzco; to provincial