BRONZE AND SILVIjR DISKS USED BY THE INCAS IN NECKLACES 



The large disk in the center, of pure silver, was found in excavating a house, three feet under 

 the floor, carefully folded and hidden away by its former owner : Machu Picchu 



accustomed to write upon parchment and 

 the leaves of certain trees. This mandate 

 was observed with such strictness that the 

 Peruvians never again used letters until 

 the time of the Spanish conquest. In- 

 stead they used threads, strings, and 

 knots, as was the custom among the 

 Incas. 



This tradition refers to an event which 

 is supposed to have happened many cen- 

 turies before the Spanish conquest. As a 



matter of fact, it is extremely doubtful 

 whether the most ancient Peruvians used 

 any kind of letters in our sense of the 

 word ; but it is quite probable that they 

 had some method of keeping records 

 which was lost during the dark ages, and 

 this tradition may be an attempt to ac- 

 count for this loss. 



It is significant that in the oldest part 

 of ]\Iachu Picchu we found large num- 

 bers of stone counters, like poker-chips. 



175 



