Rongorongo (/ˈrɒŋɡoʊˈrɒŋɡoʊ/; Rapa Nui: [ˈɾoŋoˈɾoŋo]) is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that appears to be writing or proto-writing. Numerous attempts at decipherment have been made, none successfully able to translate or read.
Almost everyone is aware of the famous Moai statues of Easter Island, but there are other artifacts associated with the place that also have unanswered questions surrounding them. First recorded by Catholic missionary Eugene Eyraud just after 1864, a total of 24 wooden carvings have been found, all containing a system of glyphs, dubbed “rongorongo glyphs,” which are believed to be writing or a form of proto-writing.
To date, nobody has been able to definitively decipher them despite several attempts and the possible identification of calendric and genealogical information. If the glyphs do turn out to be writing, they may represent one of only three or four times in human history that writing was invented independently. Some scholars believe that deciphering the glyphs may provide answers as to why the early civilization of Easter Island collapsed. Others believe the glyphs are not true writing at all but serve as memory aids or are purely decorative.
The script may have been in use as late as the 1860s and might have been influenced by early Spanish explorers. Whatever its origins, it quickly fell out of use through a combination of plague introduced by the explorers and Easter Islanders switching to Spanish after the missionaries arrived. Some scholars believe that only the village elders or religious elders made use of the script, which could help explain the swiftness of its disappearance.
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