"The male kipu-keepers, the kipukamayuq, with their knotted cords became the political, social and religious resistance of the Incas against the destruction of the Spanish conquistadors, and managed to maintain the memory of their beliefs, works, conquests and traditions until the invaders realized that the khipus were dangerous and ordered their extermination. The book is a fresh look at the history and meaning of the khipus. Confessing his admiration for the people of ancient Peru, Friar Chronicler Jose de Acosta recognized an uncomfortable superiority that, in 1583, was basic for the burning of his greatest testimony, the archive with thousands of khipus of the Khipukancha.ʺ (HKB Translation) --Verso Cover.