Researches have deciphered part of the Inca khipus, knotted strings supposedly used for accounting purposes. The idea of using colored knots as an alphabet for a string language has been floating around my head for years, and it probably originated from hearing about khipu on Nova. So far, the researchers have discovered only one three-knot “word” meaning the city of Puruchuco, but hopefully the entire knot language will be understood someday. Imagine, reading the stories of ancient peoples in these strings!