Section 2: With a population over 3 million, the Inca resided in where Peru and the surrounding

areas until the Spanish caused their demise in 1560. The absence of written Inca material forces

us to rely on other sources, most importantly written documents of those who were both of

Spanish and Inca descent. Archeologists study the remains of Inca architecture, produced goods,

and what remains of the quipus.

Section 3: The Inca had a very organized economy, they conducted censuses and recorded the

data using quipus. The Inca were also familiar with astronomical studies, such as the length of a

year, quipus were most likely used to record astronomical observations. Numerical quipus are

the most popular, but there is speculation that quipus could have a code that would be used to

record non-numerical information.

Section 4: Quipus were made from yard that was died a specific color before being spun, some

colors were created by twisting two different colors together. The main structure of a quipu is the

main chord, which then has pendants and top chords attached to it. Pendants and top chords can

subsidiary attachments, which themselves can have subsidiary attachments.

Section 5: The Inca used a base 10 numerical system, the same that we use today. The numbers

were represented by a series of knots, ones closer to the main chord indicated higher positions,

while long knots near the end of the chord represented the units. Different types of nots can

represent different numbers, while an empty space will represent a zero.

Section 7: It is argued that the Inca used the concept of zero, this is evident by the empty spaces

in chords. Unlike other cultures, the Inca represented zero, or nothingness, with nothingness. It is

also theorized that the Inca borrowed the concept of zero from the Maya.
Section 9: Even with a lack of a traditional writing system, the Inca were still organized through

their use of quipus. By using the hierarchical quipu system, the Inca were able to add, divide, and

multiply numbers. It is also evident that the Inca comprehended and used zero in their number

system.