Did the Inca envision a blockchain system?

A team of digital archeologists has proposed that Monte Sierpe, an ancient site in Peru with 5,200 precision holes, served as an indigenous system of accounting for the Inca Empire. This site is suggested to have functioned as a barter marketplace before evolving into a large-scale accounting device for tribute collection from local communities between 1400-1532 AD. The arrangement of holes, segmented into blocks, resembles modern blockchains, allowing for public verification of transactions and ownership without writing or currency. Despite not preserving history like a digital blockchain, Monte Sierpe facilitated clear economic exchanges by publicly displaying information about goods deposited for tribute, mimicking a transparent ledger system. This innovative approach to organization hints at the significant value the Incas placed on recording transactions and managing large populations. Ultimately, the researchers liken Monte Sierpe’s massive undertaking to a form of proof-of-work, emphasizing the monumental labor involved in its construction. The key insight reinforces the idea that Societies utilized structures analogous to modern blockchain systems long before their digital counterparts emerged.

Source 🔗