The Rongorongo is a system of (undated)glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island a Chilean Island on the Pacific Ocean. The Rongorongo appears to be writing or proto-writing.
There have been several attempts to decipher what was written on the pieces of wood, none successful till date so today 'The Rongorongo glyphs made it to our list of World's greatest unsolved mysteries'
Although some calendrical and what might prove to be genealogical information has been identified, not even these glyphs can actually be read. If rongorongo does prove to be writing and proves to be an independent invention, it would be one of very few independent inventions of writing in human history.There have been several attempts to decipher what was written on the pieces of wood, none successful till date so today 'The Rongorongo glyphs made it to our list of World's greatest unsolved mysteries'
Two dozen wooden objects bearing rongorongo inscriptions, some heavily weathered, burned, or otherwise damaged, were collected in the late 19th century and are now scattered in museums and private collections. None remain on Easter Island. The objects are mostly tablets shaped from irregular pieces of wood, sometimes driftwood, but include a chieftain's staff, a bird-man statuette, and two reimiro ornaments. There are also a few petroglyphs which may include short rongorongo inscriptions. Oral history suggests that only a small elite was ever literate and that the tablets were sacred.
Dating the tablets..
According to Wikipedia, Little direct dating has been done. The start of forest-clearing for agriculture, and thus presumably colonization, has been dated to circa 1200, implying a date for the invention of rongorongo no earlier than the 13th century. Tablet Q (Small Saint Petersburg) is the sole item that has been carbon dated, but the results only constrain the date to sometime after 1680.Glyph 67 is thought to represent the extinct Easter Island palm,which disappeared from the island's pollen record circa 1650, suggesting that the script itself is at least that old.
Discovery..
The first account of the tablet was reported by Eugene Eyraud, a lay friar of the Congregation de Picpus, who landed on Easter Island on January 2, 1864 and was on the Island for nine months, evangelizing its inhabitants.
According to Wikipedia, Little direct dating has been done. The start of forest-clearing for agriculture, and thus presumably colonization, has been dated to circa 1200, implying a date for the invention of rongorongo no earlier than the 13th century. Tablet Q (Small Saint Petersburg) is the sole item that has been carbon dated, but the results only constrain the date to sometime after 1680.Glyph 67 is thought to represent the extinct Easter Island palm,which disappeared from the island's pollen record circa 1650, suggesting that the script itself is at least that old.
Discovery..
The first account of the tablet was reported by Eugene Eyraud, a lay friar of the Congregation de Picpus, who landed on Easter Island on January 2, 1864 and was on the Island for nine months, evangelizing its inhabitants.
Reference: +Wikipedia
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