GabyAn international team of scientists studied the mysterious wooden tablets of rongorongo from Easter Island using radiocarbon dating. The undeciphered script does not resemble any known writing system. Researchers suggested that the island’s language may be unique, having developed without external influences.
Strangely enough, the texts are engraved on the fragments. trees that have never grown in this area.
The new project focused on finding answers to questions about island writing was funded by the European Research Council. The research brought together scientists from leading research centers in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.
What the scientists talked about
As a result of radiocarbon dating of several ancient tablets, researchers found that the early images were engraved before the arrival of Europeans. This indicates that the rongorongo script originated here and that this process was not influenced by any foreign writing systems.
Rongo-rongo engravings were first discovered in 1864. Currently, there are only 27 such tablets left in the world. Moreover, there are none on Easter Island.
IslandEasteralso known asRapa Nuilocatedin the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean,approximately 3,800 kilometers from the coast of Chile. Ceone ofthe most remote areas of land on the planetIslandmostmoreefamous for its stone statuesmoaiin the form ofhumangoalIt seems that the text you provided is incomplete or unclear. Could you please provide more context or a longer text for translation?,that reach 20 meters.
By the end of the 18th century, the local culture of the indigenous people of Easter Island had been destroyed by outbreaks of disease and raids by Europeans, who first reached its shores in the 1720s.
Thus, the rongorongo script ceased to exist more than two centuries ago. Meanwhile, the tablets remain undeciphered. Researchers have noted that “the texts that have reached us are relatively long and written using pictorial signs, often referred to as ‘glyphs.’ According to the authors of the study, the rongorongo signs consist of various images, including human poses, body parts, animals, plants, tools, celestial bodies, and more.”
It is difficult to say when and how this language system originated. The glyphs do not resemble any known writing system. It is possible that the tablets contain examples of writing created completely independently, similar to what happened in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and Mesoamerica (the land of the Aztecs).
What other discoveries awaited? researchers
The team discovered that two tablets were made from wood cut in the first half of the 19th century, when Europeans had already visited Easter Island. During further investigation, the authors dated four more rongo-rongo engravings that missionaries took from the island in 1869. They are currently stored in Rome, the publication reported. IFLScience .
The results showed that three of the tablets were made from wood from trees cut down in the 19th century. The wood for the fourth was cut down even earlier, between 1493 and 1509. Thus, this engraving appeared at least 200 years before the arrival of foreigners on the island. This once again raises hopes that the rongorongo script was born in complete isolation.
Interestingly, this plaque It was made from the wood of Podocarpus latifolia, which does not grow on Easter Island. However, it is the national tree of South Africa. According to researchers, starting from the Middle Ages, the wood was commonly used for making ship masts, and therefore, it could have been washed ashore on the island in the form of debris from a sunken European vessel.
It is impossible to say exactly how long a piece of wood could have spent in the sea before the islanders rescued it and made it a bearer of information.
According to the authors of the study, “if the exceptional age of the tablet indicates that the local population of Rapa Nui invented their writing without the influence or participation of external factors, rongorongo may represent one of the few independent writing systems.”
The results of the study were published by the journal Scientific Reports.
