Tom Maynard created a record of his work schedule using a khipu, a system of writing developed by the Inca people of South America prior to the Spanish conquest. Although khipus are still not fully understood, researchers have discovered that khipus use knots and cords to signify different types of data.
From Tom’s description of his project: “Short cords indicate date, and overhand knots indicate punctuation. Ashley’s Stopper Knots indicate a quantity of 10. The number of turns in each Barrel Knot equates to a number (between 1 and 9). Work hours are indicated with the task signifier (a particular type of knot) followed by the number of hours worked in that day. Figure 8 Knots: Challenge Course. Masthead Knots: Domino’s Pizza. Alpine Butterfly: Outdoor Adventure Program. Square Knot: School Work. All strings between the date strings signify one day, and are arranged chronologically.”