Rongorongo is the only written language indigenous to Oceania, originating on Easter Island. It is thought that the Rapa Nui, the people of the island, were inspired to record their language under the influence of a visit from the Spanish in 1770.
The script, inscribed on wooden tablets, is in hieroglyphs representative of people, geometric figures, birds and fish. Some tablets have been identified as genealogy trees and lunar calendars.
However, many of the tablets were destroyed in the collapse of the Rapanui society, so deciphering the script poses a near impossible task.
The tablets allow for continuous reading as every other line of glyphs is scribed upside down, the text snaking along the wood.
For more detailed information and pictures of the tablets hit www.rongorongo.org
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