PSYCHOLOGY 



369 



coloured cord, or the number and character of the knots, did 

 not denote (as in hieroglyphs) an idea, a number or an event, 

 but they were only a means of refreshing the memory as to 

 these things. 



In the same way the knotted strings of the South Sea 

 Islanders (Figs. 189, 190) are genealogical registers and his- 

 torical records, which in earlier times could only be recounted, 

 or sung, by a few individuals, and only when the strings with 



FIG. 189. Knotted cord from Hepatone, Tahuata, Marquesas Islands. (After 

 v. d. Steinen.) 



their knots were actually in their hands and before their 

 eyes. 



Finally, to take another glance at America, the North 

 American Indians had the same mnemonic device in their 

 strings of mussel shells and their wampum girdles, as had the 

 Peruvians with their Quippus. The girdle of a distinguished 

 person was artfully constructed of animal tendon, with knots, 

 separated by strings of pearls and shells presented by the 

 envoys on important occasions, such as the making of a treaty 



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