A census is what this is called. A census (depending on the type and by who is conducting it) basically counts something like the number of people in the population so that whoever is using it can get accurate results for something. Like lets say a king wanted a census of his people, animals, soldiers. He would instantly have his men count all the people in the city. They would record the amount of animals. And the same for soldiers. Then they would put all this information in a big book and keep it in the palace. It was frequently updated as people moved or died.
