Is it possible to understand the Universe without understanding the largest structures that reside in it? In principle, not ...

Quipu means knot in Quechua, the dominant indigenous language in the region. You might mistake a quipu for a brightly colored necklace or headdress, but it is a communication device.

If a flawed family-friendly movie can kindle the audience’s curiosity in pre-Columbian civilizations, that’s a net positive.

Named after the Incan system of knotted cords used for recording data, Quipu stretches 1.3 billion light-years across—more than 13,000 times the length of the Milky Way.

The quipu is a traditional Andean counting device that uses colored strings and knots in lieu of paper and numbers. ... An Inca quipu attached to a wooden frame (1430-1532 B.C.E.).

Quipu has the same mass as a staggering 200,000,000,000,000,000 copies of the sun, ... Quipu was named after the knotted cords used as recording devices by the Inca Empire and other South American ...

Astronomers have found the largest structure in the universe so far, named Quipu after an Incan measuring system. It contains a shocking 200 quadrillion solar masses.

An Inca quipu (khipu) used for storing data with a system of knots. 15th century CE. Larco Museum, Lima. Credit: Claus Ableiter (CC BY-SA) An Inca quipu (khipu) used for storing data with a system ...

The researchers say that Quipu was so obvious in the data that it immediately caught their attention. Finding the largest known object in the universe isn’t just an exciting achievement, though.

And yet some shrewd elements demonstrate the purposeful research involved (Dora and Diego can read the Inca quipu, a series of knots that communicate a message), and Billings’ amusing foresight ...

Though the Spanish destroyed many quipus, some chose to study them. Inca Garcilaso de la Vega was the son of a conquistador and an Incan prince, and acted as an intermediary between the two peoples.