Message #3905

[Carolyn Silver]

7. Rongorongo


Even orthodox researchers have to admit that the Easter Island script – Rongorongo – constitutes a genuine enigma. Rongorongo now survives only as markings on 25 pieces of wood scattered around the world’s museums, though other tablets might still be hidden in the island’s sacred family caves. Some signs also survive on paper in makeshift ‘books’ from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The glyphs contain about 120 basic elements – human figures in a variety of positions, birds, animals, plants, celestial objects, and geometrical shapes – but these are combined to form between 1500 and 2000 compound signs. Many of the motifs are also found in the island’s rock art, but none are found on any statues or platforms.




Fig. 7.1