Quipu in a sentence as a noun

[5] The configuration of the quipus has been "compared to string mops.

Like a Turing machine, if there were an infinitely long quipu, there is nothing it could not calculate.

A lot about the Inca isn't understood - their record keeping/message system for example, quipu.

This reminded me of the quipu:A quipu usually consisted of cotton or camelid fiber strings.

I bought a book in Arequipa or Cusco back in 2004 or so that described in detail a large amount of quipu that had been found in the area.

Did Stephenson extrapolate from the quipu or is it fundamentally different?

It's pretty widely settled now that quipu are a system for counting and bookkeeping and is not a writing system in the sense that it translates words or sounds into written equivalents.

Proper Noun Examples for Quipu

"'Quipus can be traced back to China, and the fact that our indigenous people also utilized the quipu as a means of communication implies there should have been a direct contact among the two cultures,' said Vega.

Quipu definitions

noun

calculator consisting of a cord with attached cords; used by ancient Peruvians for calculating and keeping records