from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Quichuan \Qui"chuan\, a.
Designating, or pertaining to, a linguistic stock of South
American Indians, including the majority of the civilized
tribes of the ancient Peruvian Empire with some wild tribes
never subjugated by the Incas. Most of these Indians are
short, but heavy and strong. They are brachycephalic and of
remarkably low cranial capacity. Nevertheless, they represent
one of the highest of native American civilizations,
characterized by agricultural, military, and administrative
skill rather than by science or literature, although they
were adept potters, weavers, and goldsmiths, and preserved by
the aid of the mnemonic quipu a body of legendary lore in
part written down since the introduction of writing.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]