Mathematics of the Incas: Code of the Quipu

by Marcia Ascher, Robert Ascher

The Incas of ancient Peru possessed no writing. Instead, they developed a unique system expressed on spatial arrays of colored knotted cords called quipus to record and transmit information throughout their vast empire. The present book is based on a firsthand study of actual quipus that survived the destruction of the Inca civilization. Written by a mathematician and an anthropologist, this book acquaints the reader with the cultural context of the quipus, the problem of interpreting artifacts from another culture, and the place of the quipu-maker in Inca culture. Although no previous mathematical knowledge is assumed, the reader is introduced to the mathematical ideas embedded in the quipus and learns how to make a quipu.Enhanced with over 125 illustrations, this unusual and thought-provoking study will interest mathematicians, historians, anthropologists, archeologists, and students of folk art with its unique perspective on the way in which pieces of colored string serve to embody a rich, logical, numerical tradition and are, ultimately, a metaphor for the civilization that created them. Preface. Exercises and answers within chapters.

Genres: Mathematics, History, Nonfiction

180 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 15, 1981

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insights into this Incan information storage medium that fascinates me -- the quipu. I skimmed through most of the book, which was a little too in the weeds for what I wanted to learn from it, but I know I'm not the intended audience. It seems like it would be a good resource for actually making a quipu, if one wanted to do so. Also, the authors do a good job of bringing in other cultural and communications-related examples to help explain quipus.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess it all comes down to the fact that I don't buy it. I can't give a good reason why but I just don't buy that people have been able to translate what quipus mean in that they transmit numbers in some way or form. When this is a starting point, it makes the entire book difficult to read. Maybe I don't want to be convinced they are right, maybe researchers, working with a very limited data set, are over confident in what they assert. I admit that there is a certain sense to knots signifying individual units of something but I just can't get past a lot of assumptions. As I was reading this I thought why do numbers have to be counted in a base 10 sort of way outside the fact that it makes sense given we have 10 fingers? But then there's the trouble with days of the week - did the Incas or other societies have 7 day weeks? It doesn't make sense to me that every calendar ever developed has 7 day weeks but maybe the authors aren't asserting that. And back to the knots. What if each represented 2 or 10 or 12 or some other number that the Incas decided on? There is so much unknown that I choose not to believe in this interpretation.

[Suncan Stone]

'Written by a mathematician and an anthropologist...' one would think that it is rather exciting... Well, how wrong could one be... At times it seems as if they switched their roles and we learn things like 5 x 16 = 90 (just as an example) or that certain symbols stand for... immediately followed by probably (and this even was nothing to do about the Incas, but Sumerians - not the case study of the book). So basically telling us the thing goes like this, but then again maybe not. The only truly worthwhile part of t.he book is the very basic description of the Quipu and how it works (supposedly - I did loose some trust in the two writers)... That's enough of me moaning and criticizing :)

[Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clearly written book on a very interesting topic. Some of the more anthropological bits were a little boring for me, but I suspect that's just because I was only reading it for the math.