Description
The image shows how an Inca quipu (khipu) works – a system of knotted strings used to represent numbers in the decimal system. This specific example illustrates an addition problem.
The horizontal dotted lines divide the strings into place values (from top to bottom: hundreds, tens, ones).
String Ba: 1 hundred, 3 tens, 4 ones = 134
String Bb: 3 hundreds, 2 tens, 9 ones = 329
String Bc: 0 hundreds, 7 tens, 1 unit = 71
String C (total): 5 hundreds, 3 tens, 4 units = 534
The mathematical equation is:
134 + 329 + 71 = 534
Description
The image shows how an Inca quipu (khipu) works – a system of knotted strings used to represent numbers in the decimal system. This specific example illustrates an addition problem.
The horizontal dotted lines divide the strings into place values (from top to bottom: hundreds, tens, ones).
String Ba: 1 hundred, 3 tens, 4 ones = 134
String Bb: 3 hundreds, 2 tens, 9 ones = 329
String Bc: 0 hundreds, 7 tens, 1 unit = 71
String C (total): 5 hundreds, 3 tens, 4 units = 534
The mathematical equation is:
134 + 329 + 71 = 534
