Inca Blockchain System in 600-Year-Old Monte Sierpe
Digital archaeologists have reinterpreted Monte Sierpe, a 600-year-old Inca site in Peru, as an indigenous public ledger akin to a blockchain system. The site’s 5,200 holes, arranged in 60 segments, functioned as a large-scale accounting tool for recording and verifying tribute payments. Researchers propose that each block of holes represented a social group’s contributions, offering an early proof-of-work-like mechanism to display transactions publicly and ensure transparent record-keeping without writing. This Inca blockchain system predates European double-entry accounting by a century and highlights the Empire’s innovative administration. Unlike khipu cords, which relied on specialist record-keepers, Monte Sierpe provided an immutable, trustless display of economic data. While each new tribute cycle likely overwrote past entries, the analog blockchain’s principles mirror modern distributed ledgers. This insight underlines the enduring value of public, verifiable ledgers in organizing large societies.
Neutral
This discovery is historical, offering context on blockchain origins but unlikely to directly affect crypto markets. Similar historical studies have boosted academic interest without driving trading activity. Traders may gain insight into the enduring value of public ledgers, but short-term market behavior remains unchanged. In the long term, the narrative may reinforce confidence in blockchain principles but not trigger price movements.