# Do any khipus record language, or only numbers and categories? · Inka khipus: the knotted-cord records > Five answers have been proposed. Khipus record numbers and the categories they belong to; colour, fibre and attachment label what is counted… leads, with… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/questions/QST0D4V7ZKY6123/do-any-khipus-record-language-or-only-numbers-and-categories Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T11:57:48+00:00 --- **0** # Do any khipus record language, or only numbers and categories? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·5 answers·0·0 following **Most likely: khipus record numbers and the categories they belong to; colour, fibre and attachment label what is counted…** Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted. ## Where it stands Five answers have been proposed. Khipus record numbers and the categories they belong to; colour, fibre and attachment label what is counted… leads, with evidence 2 for: partly supported by its tests. Four are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet. ## Why it matters Colonial writers describe khipus that recorded histories and messages⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7RHC1SQP/writing-with-twisted-cords-the-inscriptive-capacity-of). If any did so in a linguistic code, the Andes had a writing system in cords; if not, khipus were a sophisticated non-linguistic record⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7Q2G2V6B/code-of-the-quipu-a-study-in-media-mathematics-and-culture)⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7QAA1B1E/signs-of-the-inka-khipu-binary-coding-in-the-andean-knotted). ## Answers 5 [**Khipus record numbers and the categories they belong to; colour, fibre and attachment label what is counted…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/answers/ANS0D4V80K6218K/khipus-record-numbers-and-the-categories-they-belong-to) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 2 for Most likely [**Non-numerical features form a code of labels for places, social groups and divisions that can be decoded…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/answers/ANS0D4V81AM19B3/non-numerical-features-form-a-code-of-labels-for-places) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 3 for Most likely [**Each cord encodes a set of binary construction choices that together form a large structured sign inventory,…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/answers/ANS0D4V82SG64TV/each-cord-encodes-a-set-of-binary-construction-choices-that) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: 1 for Still possible [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/answers/ANS0D4V83941JHV/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible [**Some khipus, especially narrative ones, recorded words phonetically, for example by using cord types for…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/answers/ANS0D4V829W47WT/some-khipus-especially-narrative-ones-recorded-words) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: 1 for Still possible ## History 1. 1981[Ascher & Ascher puts forward: khipus record numbers and the categories they belong to; colour, fibre and attachment label what is counted…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7Q2G2V6B/code-of-the-quipu-a-study-in-media-mathematics-and-culture) 1. 2003[Urton puts forward: each cord encodes a set of binary construction choices that together form a large structured sign inventory,…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7QAA1B1E/signs-of-the-inka-khipu-binary-coding-in-the-andean-knotted) 1. 2005[Urton & Brezine: excavated archives at Puruchuco and Inkawasi behave as layered accounts.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7QJ41MAZ/khipu-accounting-in-ancient-peru)For: Khipus record numbers and the categories they belong to; colour, fibre and attachment label what is counted… 1. 2017[Hyland puts forward: some khipus, especially narrative ones, recorded words phonetically, for example by using cord types for…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7RHC1SQP/writing-with-twisted-cords-the-inscriptive-capacity-of) 1. 2017[Hyland: two Collata khipus said locally to be letters show many distinct cord types, which Hyland reads as possible…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7RHC1SQP/writing-with-twisted-cords-the-inscriptive-capacity-of)For: Some khipus, especially narrative ones, recorded words phonetically, for example by using cord types for… 1. 2018[Medrano & Urton puts forward: non-numerical features form a code of labels for places, social groups and divisions that can be decoded…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7R1R6YP6/toward-the-decipherment-of-a-set-of-mid-colonial-khipus-from) 1. 2018[Medrano & Urton: in the Santa Valley khipus, recto or verso attachment of first cords divides the 1670 census tributaries into…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7R1R6YP6/toward-the-decipherment-of-a-set-of-mid-colonial-khipus-from)For: Non-numerical features form a code of labels for places, social groups and divisions that can be decoded… 1. 2018[Medrano & Urton: construction features such as attachment direction carry information in at least one decoded set.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7R1R6YP6/toward-the-decipherment-of-a-set-of-mid-colonial-khipus-from)For: Each cord encodes a set of binary construction choices that together form a large structured sign inventory,… 1. 2019[Clindaniel: a corpus analysis finds non-numerical signs acting as paired predicates, conventional across the empire.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7S1053FY/toward-a-grammar-of-the-inka-khipu-investigating-the)For: Non-numerical features form a code of labels for places, social groups and divisions that can be decoded… 1. 2024[Medrano & Khosla: sum relations characterise at least 74 per cent of 650 khipus, so most of the corpus is arithmetic.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7R9J4S9R/how-can-data-science-contribute-to-understanding-the-khipu)For: Khipus record numbers and the categories they belong to; colour, fibre and attachment label what is counted… 1. 2024[Medrano & Khosla: white pendants appear to mark boundaries of sum-cord groups, a structural convention.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D4V7R9J4S9R/how-can-data-science-contribute-to-understanding-the-khipu)For: Non-numerical features form a code of labels for places, social groups and divisions that can be decoded… 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/khipu/questions/QST0D4V7ZKY6123/do-any-khipus-record-language-or-only-numbers-and-categories%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/khipu/questions/QST0D4V7ZKY6123/do-any-khipus-record-language-or-only-numbers-and-categories%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/khipu/questions/QST0D4V7ZKY6123/do-any-khipus-record-language-or-only-numbers-and-categories%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/khipu/questions/QST0D4V7ZKY6123/do-any-khipus-record-language-or-only-numbers-and-categories%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/khipu/questions/QST0D4V7ZKY6123/do-any-khipus-record-language-or-only-numbers-and-categories%23add-source) Where it fits Inka khipus: the knotted-cord records **Do any khipus record language, or only numbers and categories?** Key question · you're here [Can specific khipus be matched to the colonial documents that transcribe or describe them?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/khipu/questions/QST0D4V7ZVR3G4E/can-specific-khipus-be-matched-to-the-colonial-documents)Most likely · the Santa Valley khipus record the 1670 revisita, and more such pairs can be found in colonial archives [ Ask a question under this one ]