1879 -] 
Peruvian A ntiquities . 
105 
Europe. The gigantic architecture points to the Cyclopean 
family, the founders of the Temple of Babel and the 
Egyptian Pyramids. The Grecian scroll found in many 
places, borrowed from the Egyptians ; the mode of burial 
and embalming their dead, points to Egypt as their similar, 
while the distaff, plough, manner of threshing and of 
making brick, are the same as when the Israelites were 
captives. 
The hieroglyphics, to none of which as yet a key has been 
found, cannot be referred to the Incas, since they apparently 
had no knowledge of characters, but kept their records and 
accounts by means of a quippus, or knots and different 
coloured threads, as did those in Asia, China, Mexico, and 
Canada in ancient times, and they kept in each city an 
official whose business it was to keep and decipher their 
quippus. It was made of twisted wool, and consisted of a 
thread or thick string, from 1 to 18 ft. long, as a base upon 
which other threads or strings were attached. The different 
colours had different significations: the red, soldier or 
warrior ; the yellow, gold ; the white, silver or peace ; the 
green, wheat or corn, and so on. In numerals, one knot 
signified ten ; two simple knots, twenty : the knot doubly 
interlaced, one hundred ; trebly interlaced, one thousand ; 
two interlacings of this latter, two thousand. By setting 
apart a quippus for the military, another for the laws and 
decrees, another for historic events — i.e., a separate quippus 
for distinct classes of ideas — the same knots could be used 
many times over, but to read them one must know to which 
class they belonged. Certain signs were affixed to the be- 
ginning of each “ mother thread,” as the base or principal 
string was called, by which the official could distinguish 
each. However, should an official visit another locality, 
these signs had to be explained verbally, also the signs 
representing local events, names of rivers, mountains, ships, 
cities, &c. Henee, a quippus was only intelligible, for the 
most part, in the place it was kept. Many quippus have 
been taken from the graves, in excellent state of preservation 
in colour and texture, but the lips that alone could pronounce 
the verbal key, have for ever ceased their function, and the 
relic seeker has failed to note the exaCt spot each was found, 
so that the records which could tell so much we want to 
know will remain sealed till all is revealed at the last day. 
The skulls taken from the burial-grounds, according to 
craniologists, represent three distinct races. 
The first, to which the name of “ Chinchas” has been 
given, occupied the Western part of Peru from the Andes to 
