The Quipu
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The!quipu!(meaning!'knot')!is!a!recording!device!used!in!Andean!civilizations!at!least!as!far!back!as!Wari!
in!the!7th!century,!but!it!is!associated!in!particular!with!the!administration!of!the!Inca!empire.!It!consists!
of!a!length!of!rope!from!which!numerous!other!threads!are!suspended,!some!of!them!with!their!own!
subsidiary!offshoots.!The!length!of!each!thread,!its!color!and!the!position!of!any!knots!in!it!can!acquire!
specific!meanings.!!
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At!its!simplest!this!is!an!easy!way!of!recording!quantities!of!different!goods.!If!a!length!or!color!of!thread!
is!an!agreed!symbol!for!a!given!commodity,!the!knots!(registering!units,!tens!or!hundreds)!will!give!a!
quick!account!of!the!total.!!
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The!quipu!can!also!cope!with!more!abstract!themes.!If!threads!or!knots!are!allocated!the!role!of!days!and!
months,!a!time!scale!is!easily!recorded.!In!this!way!simple!historical!records!can!be!kept,!such!as!the!
length!of!a!king's!reign!since!his!accession.!!
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What!a!quipu!cannot!do!is!substitute!for!writing.!It!can!record!how!long!a!king!has!reigned!but!not!what!
his!name!was.!It!may!provide!a!messenger!with!a!mnemonic,!but!it!is!the!messenger!who!must!remember!
the!message.!
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Terrace Farming
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Ancient!Inca!cities!were!located!high!in!the!Andes!Mountains.!To!sustain!a!large!population,!they!had!to!
develop!a!way!to!grow!enough!food.!In!the!harsh!climate!and!terrain!of!the!Andes,!agriculture!is!difficult.!
The!mountains!provide!little!flat!land!for!farming.!There!are!cold!temperatures!at!night,!tropical!
temperatures!during!the!day,!and!a!lack!of!dependable!rainfall.!Terrace!farming!and!irrigation!helped!
Inca!farmers!solve!these!problems.!In!basic!terms,!terraced!farming!is!a!technique!where!hillsides!or!
mountain!slopes!are!cut!into!stepElike!horizontal!fields!to!create!more!farmable!land!where!it!would!be!
impossible!to!farm!in!the!usual!way.!Walls!made!of!stone!or!sod!support!each!level.!Using!this!method,!
more!land!can!be!used!to!grow!crops.!But!the!growing!space!is!in!a!series!of!narrow!strips,!not!in!one!
large!field.!
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Terraced!farming!provides!an!effective!way!to!grow!crops,!while!minimizing!the!amount!of!soil!erosion!
and!nutrient!loss.!Since!the!hillside!and!slopes!are!cut!into!levels,!the!upper!levels!will!get!enough!water!
and!the!lower!levels!will!not!erode!away!in!the!case!of!a!large!amount!of!precipitation.!The!stepEshaped!
form!also!carries!the!nutrients!in!the!soil!down!to!the!lower!levels!in!the!case!of!a!great!pour!instead!
washing!it!all!down,!like!in!a!normal!slanting!slope.!The!technique!provides!many!benefits!when!it!comes!
to!farming.!However,!this!intuitive!technique!comes!with!some!disadvantages.!Since!the!terraces!can!
retain!rainwater,!if!it!ever!holds!too!much,!it!can!overflow!when!another!heavy!rain!comes.!The!overflow!
of!water!might!then!run!off!onto!other!fields!that!might!not!be!terraced.!Terraced!farming!can!lead!to!
more!soil!erosion!in!downEslope!areas!in!addition!to!forming!mudslides!and!deep!gullies,!if!not!
maintained!well.!
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The!terraces!provided!another!advantage.!The!stone!retaining!walls!heat!up!during!the!day!and!slowly!
release!that!heat!to!the!soil!as!temperatures!plunge!at!night,!keeping!sensitive!plant!roots!warm!during!
the!sometimes!frosty!nights!and!expanding!the!growing!season.!!
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Incan Roads
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The!Incas!never!invented!the!wheel.!But!in!less!than!a!hundred!years,!they!built!over!14,000!miles!of!
road,!much!of!which!was!paved.!Some!sections!of!road!were!over!15!feet!wide.!Some!sections!were!so!
steep!that!the!Incas!built!stone!walls!along!the!edge!to!prevent!people!from!falling!off!cliffs.!The!Incas!
built!suspension!bridges!over!deep!gorges!using!huge!cables!made!of!woven!reed.!If!a!bridge!broke,!local!
workers!rushed!to!fix!it,!so!that!travel!could!continue!unimpeded.!The!Incas!built!hundreds!of!bridges.!
Every!other!year,!bridges!were!replaced.!In!places,!they!constructed!pulley!baskets!E!to!use!these,!
travelers!would!climb!inside!a!basket!which!was!then!pulled!to!the!other!side!of!an!especially!deep!gorge!
or!to!cross!a!river.!
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Common!people!could!not!use!the!roads.!The!roads!belonged!to!the!government.!!No!one!could!travel!the!
roads!without!special!permission.!!The!army!used!the!roads!to!move!quickly!and!easily!to!any!point!in!the!
Incan!Empire.!The!army!could!quickly!stop!rebellions,!protect!people!from!intruders,!or!bring!supplies!to!
victims!of!natural!disasters.!Young!men!employed!as!messengers!ran!along!the!roads!carrying!messages!
and!news!back!to!the!capital.!When!messages!were!secret,!runners!carried!the!message!in!the!form!of!a!
quipu!E!a!series!of!knots!and!colored!string.!Llama!trains!collected!food!from!the!farms!and!moved!it!to!
the!city!and!to!storerooms!along!the!road.!As!the!Empire!expanded,!roads!were!quickly!built!to!keep!the!
Empire!connected.!First!the!engineers!would!go!in!and!make!sure!the!roads!were!properly!laid!out.!Then!
the!workers!arrived.!Building!roads!was!one!way!farmers!and!common!people!could!pay!their!"service!
tax"!or!labor!tax.!
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The!roads!were!very!well!built.!Many!of!the!Incan!roads!are!still!in!use!today.!
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