
Overlooked book may decipher Quipu - J3L2404
http://www.ticotimes.net/News/Top-Story/Discovery-could-rewrite-Costa-Rica-history_Friday-March-25-2011
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tokenadult
"'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."

I call B.S. on this. I've studied Chinese history extensively (Chinese
language was my undergraduate major, along with many elective courses in
linguistics) and there is no evidence that knotted cords (attested in a few
ancient Chinese texts for keeping tallies) had any role in recording language.
There is also not good evidence of any pre-Columbian trade or other contact
between China and Central America.

~~~
vyrotek
Apparently other people think there is a connection. I'm not sure what the
sources are, but it seems there are a few places that had similar things.

[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-239461704.html?key=01-42160D...](http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-239461704.html?key=01-42160D517E1A1760170C0318066A4B2E224E324D3417295C30420B61651B617F137019731B7B1D6B39)

 _The Romans used knotted strings for tax collecting at least into the second
century A.D., and there are references to a quipu-like system used in China
around 500 B.C. Knotted strings are still used in rural areas of Okinawa,
Hawaii, and West Africa._

~~~
troymc
Indeed, it's very common for something to be invented independently in
different places. (Some would go farther, citing evidence that independent
simultaneous invention is, in fact, the rule rather than the exception.)

Further reading:
[http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2009/08/progression_o...](http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2009/08/progression_of.php)

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kragen
This article made my hair stand on end. If the discovery holds up — and keep
in mind that the Talamanca had 300+ years of contact with the Spanish, plus a
millennium of contact with the Maya, both of whom had written languages — it
could be an additional independent invention of written language.

We currently know of three or possibly four independent inventions of writing:
China, Sumer, possibly Egypt, and Maya. This could add a fourth (or fifth).

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the khipu were burned by the Spanish
centuries ago. Most of the 751 known to survive are only a few centuries old.
Ruth Shady reports one anomalous khipu of 5000 years of age; if _that_
discovery holds up, the khipu would represent an independent invention of
written numbers, _and possibly written language_ , nearly as old as Sumer's,
and far older than the writing systems of China, Egypt, and the Maya.

In short, this could be a very significant discovery in the history of digital
technology.

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dododo

      Despite the scientific impact of their discovery, both León
      and Vega agreed to end their research and allow other
      academics to take over. After five years working on the 
      project, they are ready to let it go and allow other 
      experts continue the research.
    

this seems bizarre to me. it cannot be a matter of funding. they've spent 5
years gathering a great deal of expertise, and now decide to quit just when
momentum has built up? they could instead seek collaborations on future work,
if they want other people to work on this direction. otherwise there is likely
a lot of catching up to do that is perhaps intimidating.

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bmelton
I think this is exactly one of the best reasons for services like Google Books
to exist. While I won't assert that digitization of content makes it easily
accessible, it's certainly more easily accessible than some book nobody knows
to look for.

If this were digitized, then the possibility of finding it through a Google
search becomes significantly greater.

Changing gears, having never heard of quipu before, I found this article
hugely informative and entertaining to read.

