Some comments on the preceding article

Abstract

Max Uhle alludes to the discovery of quipus in Angasmarca, classifying modern quipus into three known types. Uhle refutes the idea that quipus were once a writing system, defining this as a phonetic reproduction, and sustains that both ancient and modern quipus were mnemonic systems based on numbers. Relying on Garcilaso, he asserts that for historical traditions or "pláticas" (talks), the knots served only as aids to memory, and that the modern quipus of northern Bolivia are direct descendants of the ancient accounting systems.