MEAD, PERUVIAN MUMMIES 23 
cases was a part of some religious ceremonial, since some of the tre- 
phined skulls in the collection show distinct orientation of the wound 
and present no indication of lesion. Implements of copper and bronze 
and knives of stone and obsidian must have been employed in the opera- 
tion, which was performed with skill. 
Artificial deformation of the head was extensively practised in ancient 
Peru and was accomplished by means of ligatures applied in infancy. 
The form taken by the head was determined by the manner in which 
these bindings were applied. ‘The pathological skulls show the ravages 
of disease in the bones of the cranium. 
THE QUIPU. 
The Quipu is a fringe consisting of a main cord with other cords 
of various colors hanging from it. In the fringe knots of different kinds 
were tied. ‘The ancient Peruvians, having no written language, made 
use of the quipu to keep their accounts and possibly to record historic 
incidents. By the color of the cord, the kind of knot, the distance of 
the knots from the main cord and from each other, many facts could 
be recorded and preserved. ‘The maker of a quipu had a system which 
was to a great extent arbitrary, and which had to be explained when the 
quipu was placed in the keeping of another. 
COCA CHEWING. 
The coca plant (Lrythroxylon coca, Lam.) grows wild in the moun- 
tainous regions of Peru and Bolivia and was cultivated before the Con- 
quest, as it is to-day, in districts from 2,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea. 
It is valued for its stimulating narcotic properties, and the present 
Indians will often carry heavy burdens for several days without food, 
if furnished with a plentiful supply of coca. The leaves are gathered 
and dried in the sun and then chewed mixed with unslacked lime in 
the same way the betel is used by the East Indians. <A bag of coca 
teaves is almost always found with amummy. ‘The leaves of this plant, 
together with the cloth bags in which they were carried and the gourd 
flasks containing lime may be seen in the collection. 
