These were recording devices historically used in the region of Andean South America. They date back to 3000 years Before Common Era (BCE or BC). What’s interesting is that the knots tied on the thread and the spaces between them are ordered in a decimal system, just like our modern metric system. They recorded both statistical and narrative information, the present day. We could almost see it at a kind of calendar – for keeping track of observations, for communicating events and planning what’s next. But what’s key is that information is systematised; the spaces between knots, length of string, type of knot and number of knot have a meaning that people in the community understand so the system is STANDARDISED – making it communicative and useful.
The need to record events, make models in order to communicate and plan what’s going on and what’s going to happen is important to humans – who are social creates who care about resources – it’s almost instinctive. It makes complete sense to make records if you want to plan.