﻿Vol.2] 
  INCA 
  CULTURE 
  — 
  ROWE 
  325 
  

  

  According 
  to 
  Cobo, 
  the 
  Inca 
  had 
  no 
  standard 
  liquid 
  measure, 
  but 
  

   measured 
  grain 
  by 
  the 
  *ccullu 
  (phoqca), 
  which 
  equaled 
  approxi- 
  

   mately 
  half 
  of 
  a 
  Spanish 
  fanega, 
  or 
  nearly 
  26 
  quarts 
  (1890-95, 
  bk. 
  14, 
  

   ch. 
  15; 
  also 
  Gonzalez, 
  1608, 
  p. 
  293). 
  It 
  was 
  usually 
  a 
  large 
  calabash, 
  

   but 
  might 
  be 
  of 
  wood 
  or 
  silver. 
  

  

  The 
  Inca 
  used 
  the 
  pan 
  balance 
  (aysana), 
  and 
  may 
  have 
  also 
  used 
  

   the 
  steelyard, 
  which 
  is 
  reported 
  for 
  the 
  Coast 
  of 
  Ecuador 
  (Estete, 
  

   1924, 
  pp. 
  15-17), 
  but 
  seem 
  not 
  to 
  have 
  had 
  a 
  standard 
  system 
  of 
  

   weights. 
  The 
  Quechua 
  word 
  for 
  weight 
  (warko), 
  was 
  used 
  as 
  an 
  

   equivalent 
  for 
  the 
  Spanish 
  "peso" 
  in 
  Colonial 
  times 
  (Gonzalez, 
  1608, 
  

   p. 
  177). 
  

  

  The 
  time 
  of 
  day 
  was 
  indicated 
  by 
  pointing 
  to 
  the 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  sun, 
  

   and 
  elapsed 
  time 
  by 
  the 
  distance 
  the 
  sun 
  traveled. 
  In 
  addition, 
  

   two 
  Quechua 
  phrases 
  referred 
  to 
  the 
  time 
  needed 
  to 
  boil 
  potatoes, 
  

   which 
  were 
  used 
  as 
  equivalents 
  for 
  "hour": 
  "One 
  cooking 
  so 
  much" 
  

   (hok 
  yanoy 
  chika), 
  and 
  "one 
  cooking" 
  (hok 
  wayk'oy) 
  (Cobo, 
  1890- 
  

   95, 
  bk. 
  12, 
  ch. 
  37; 
  Gonzalez, 
  1608, 
  pp. 
  197, 
  367). 
  

  

  Mnemonic 
  devices.— 
  As 
  far 
  as 
  is 
  now 
  known, 
  no 
  form 
  of 
  writing 
  

   was 
  ever 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  Andean 
  area 
  before 
  the 
  Spanish 
  Conquest, 
  and 
  it 
  

   seems 
  most 
  unlikely 
  that 
  pre-Columbian 
  writing 
  will 
  ever 
  be 
  discovered. 
  

   Suggestions 
  have 
  been 
  advanced 
  that 
  certain 
  motives 
  found 
  on 
  pot- 
  

   tery, 
  cloth, 
  and 
  stone 
  represent 
  hieroglyphic 
  symbols, 
  but 
  these 
  are 
  all 
  

   too 
  few 
  and 
  too 
  symmetrically 
  placed 
  to 
  be 
  conceivable 
  as 
  linguistic 
  

   symbols. 
  Some 
  are 
  probably 
  heraldic 
  motives 
  and 
  others 
  may 
  rep- 
  

   resent 
  divination 
  or 
  games, 
  but 
  most 
  are 
  purely 
  ornamental. 
  The 
  

   fact 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  Andean 
  peoples 
  possessed 
  substitutes 
  for 
  writing 
  which 
  

   were 
  so 
  satisfactory 
  that 
  they 
  probably 
  never 
  felt 
  the 
  need 
  for 
  any- 
  

   thing 
  more 
  elaborate. 
  

  

  The 
  Inca 
  used 
  an 
  ingenious 
  apparatus, 
  the 
  quipu 
  (khipo, 
  "knot"), 
  

   which 
  consisted 
  of 
  a 
  main 
  cord 
  from 
  which 
  hung 
  smaller 
  strings 
  with 
  

   groups 
  of 
  simple 
  knots 
  on 
  them 
  at 
  intervals 
  (fig. 
  25, 
  d). 
  Frequently, 
  

   subsidiary 
  strings 
  are 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  main 
  pendant 
  strings, 
  and 
  often 
  

   the 
  strings 
  are 
  distinguished 
  by 
  color 
  or 
  method 
  of 
  twisting. 
  A 
  large 
  

   number 
  of 
  quipus 
  found 
  in 
  graves 
  on 
  the 
  Central 
  and 
  South 
  Coast 
  

   (Chancay 
  to 
  lea) 
  have 
  been 
  studied 
  by 
  Locke, 
  Nordenskiold, 
  and 
  

   Altieri, 
  who 
  used 
  the 
  admirably 
  detailed 
  and 
  specific 
  accounts 
  in 
  the 
  

   chroniclers 
  to 
  interpret 
  their 
  use. 
  (Locke, 
  1923, 
  1928; 
  Nordenskiold, 
  

   1925 
  a 
  and 
  1925 
  b; 
  Altieri, 
  1941.) 
  Although 
  the 
  specimens 
  come 
  from 
  

   the 
  Coast, 
  whereas 
  the 
  descriptions 
  in 
  the 
  chroniclers 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  

   Highlands, 
  and 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  specimens 
  have 
  been 
  separated 
  from 
  their 
  

   grave 
  lots 
  and 
  are 
  undatable, 
  the 
  specimens 
  so 
  obviously 
  illustrate 
  the 
  

   descriptions 
  that 
  their 
  use 
  to 
  supplement 
  one 
  another 
  is 
  probably 
  

   justified. 
  

  

  Locke 
  has 
  shown 
  quite 
  conclusively 
  that 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  quipus 
  were 
  

   used 
  for 
  recording 
  numbers 
  and 
  their 
  sums 
  in 
  a 
  decimal 
  system 
  sim- 
  

  

  