It's such a shame that the coding system used by quipus was lost for so long. I bet a lot of quipus were just thrown away because nobody could read them anymore.
The quipu conventions used by the quipucamayocs, the Incan IRS, are still lost.
The Qhapaq Simi language used by the Inca nobility is lost forever too.
Wasn't this intentional (i.e. systematic destruction of records, and suppression of use) ?
> The Council banned and ordered the burning of all Quipus in 1583 because they were used to record offerings to non-Christian gods and were therefore considered idolatrous objects and an obstacle to religious conversion.