# Non-numerical features form a code of labels for places, social groups and divisions that can be decoded…

> Most likely: Non-numerical features form a code of labels for places, social groups and divisions that can be decoded without being phonetic.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/answers/ANS0D4V81AM19B3/non-numerical-features-form-a-code-of-labels-for-places  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Inka khipus: the knotted-cord records](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu)[Do any khipus record language, or only numbers and categories?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/questions/QST0D4V7ZKY6123/do-any-khipus-record-language-or-only-numbers-and-categories)Answer

Answer · Inka khipus: the knotted-cord records

# Non-numerical features form a code of labels for places, social groups and divisions that can be decoded…

Non-numerical features form a code of labels for places, social groups and divisions that can be decoded without being phonetic.

**Most likely** Answers **1** questionPublished0

## Where it stands

**Most likely** Its tests partly supported it: three pieces of evidence for, none against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- Specific features (attachment, colour, ply) map consistently to named groups in matching colonial documents.
- The same features recur with the same meaning across khipus from one region.

## What would rule it out

- Feature-to-category mappings that work for one khipu set fail on others from the same region and genre.

## Evidence 3 for · none against

[A corpus analysis finds non-numerical signs acting as paired predicates, conventional across the empire.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/evidence/EVD0D4V81T856ZT/a-corpus-analysis-finds-non-numerical-signs-acting-as-paired)

Suggestive

FOR

[In the Santa Valley khipus, recto or verso attachment of first cords divides the 1670 census tributaries into…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/evidence/EVD0D4V81JE3RPV/in-the-santa-valley-khipus-recto-or-verso-attachment-of)

Supported

FOR

[White pendants appear to mark boundaries of sum-cord groups, a structural convention.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/evidence/EVD0D4V82226ZYN/white-pendants-appear-to-mark-boundaries-of-sum-cord-groups)

Suggestive

FOR

## The questions it answers

[Do any khipus record language, or only numbers and categories?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/questions/QST0D4V7ZKY6123/do-any-khipus-record-language-or-only-numbers-and-categories)

Most likelyKhipus record numbers and the categories they belong to; colour, fibre and attachment label what is counted…

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Non-numerical features form a code of labels for places, social groups and divisions that can be decoded… [Answer ANS0D4V81AM19B3]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0D4V81AM19B3
```

Key

**ANS** 0D4V81AM19B3

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Origin

Published

Version

1

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[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

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