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Old Peruvian calculating device
Answer for the clue "Old Peruvian calculating device ", 5 letters:
quipu
Alternative clues for the word quipu
Word definitions for quipu in dictionaries
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Quipu \Qui"pu\, n.; pl. Quipus . [Peruv. quipu a knot.] A contrivance employed by the ancient Peruvians, Mexicans, etc., as a substitute for writing and figures, consisting of a main cord, from which hung at certain distances smaller cords of various colors, ...
Wiktionary
Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. A recording device, used by the Incas, consisting of intricate knotted cords.
Wikipedia
Word definitions in Wikipedia
Quipus , sometimes known as khipus or talking knots , were recording devices historically used in the region of Andean South America . A quipu usually consisted of colored, spun, and plied thread or strings made from cotton or camelid fiber. For the Inca, ...
WordNet
Word definitions in WordNet
n. calculator consisting of a cord with attached cords; used by ancient Peruvians for calculating and keeping records
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
ancient Inca recording device using knotted cords, 1704, from Quechua quipu "knot."
Usage examples of quipu.
Gunn and Congresswoman Smith were most cooperative in telling me about Drake's quipu.
Yaeger, using his computer, deciphers the Drake Quipu and discovers that the lost treasure of Huascar is probably buried in northern Mexico.
Stephen was intimately convinced that the quipus had brought news of some hostile cousins waiting for Eduardo in the context of that movement for liberation he had touched upon the day before as well as word of Gayongos' ship, which might more sensibly have put in a little farther south, in the realm of Chile.
Unfortunately, most all the quipus, one of the most detailed statistical records of a people's history ever kept, were destroyed during the Spanish conquest and the oppression that followed.