Long before Excel, the ancient Peruvians had spreadsheets too

Copy link Copied Copy link Copied Subscribe to gift this article Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Already a subscriber? Login If you were wrestling with a spreadsheet in the office this week, be glad you weren’t born during the Inca Empire of ancient Peru. The Excel or Xero spreadsheet of the day was the quipu (pronounced kee-pu) – and, from the look of the example on display at the Australian Museum as part of its new Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru exhibition, it was a lot harder to use.

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