A quipu consisted of colored, spun, and plied strings made from alpaca fiber.  These were tied into knots to represent. The quipu is similar to a tally system.  A quipu could have only a few or up to 2,000 cords. Using Quipu, they kept track of mit’a, the Inca's form of taxation. They also tracked the type of labor being performed, and counted everyone from infants to “old blind men over 80.”