Page 88 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

The Peruvian Quipu 77

They are between 20 cm and 50 cm long, while the length. of the main cord
depends on the number of pendants. It varies from a few centimeters to more
than a meter. Sometimes an extra cord dangles down from the eye of the main
cord, it is called dangle end cord and can also carry knots. The top cords can
either be attached to the main cord in the same way as the pendant cords or
passed through the loops formed by several pendant cords, thus uniting these
to a group (see Fig. 3 above).

I

1

2'

3
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

Fig. 4. Tabulation
Top cords of this kind are used for summing up the numbers on the
pendant cords of the group. Groups of pendant cords can also be formed
by inserting spaces between them or by colouring. Hence, tables of several
dimensions can be formed, e.g. with the group indicating the column, and the
position within the group, or the colour, indicating the row (Fig. 4 above).

Fig. 5. Arrangement of Sums

While the sums within the columns are indicated on the top cords, the
sums within the rows are recorded in an extra group where the first cord
contains the sum of the numbers on the cords which hold the first position in