The mysterious writing of Easter Island is unlike any known writing system

Easter Island, located off the coast of Chile, attracts the attention of researchers from all over the world with its unique culture and mysterious head-shaped monuments called moai. Recently, scientists discovered another amazing phenomenon on this island - the mysterious Rongorongo writing, which may represent an unusual writing system unique to the island. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Researchers studying Rongorongo writing have noted that it is unlike any other known form of writing. This suggests that it was invented by local people and was not influenced by foreign writing systems. In addition, radiocarbon dating of several ancient objects showed that the earliest carvings predate the arrival of Europeans on the island. This supports the idea that the Rongorongo script was developed by local people independently of outside influences.

However, the history of Rongorongo writing is shrouded in mystery. In 1864, outside observers first noticed engravings with Rongorongo writing. But all these signs were destroyed or sent abroad. To date, only 27 examples of writing are known, and none of them are located on Easter Island itself.

Researchers trying to decipher the Rongorongo script describe it as long texts written using graphic characters called glyphs. The shapes of these signs represent various classes of images, including human poses and body parts, animals, plants, tools, celestial bodies, and more. Scientists note that the graphic glyphs of the Rongorongo script have no analogues among known scripts, but are similar to the motifs of ancient rock art found on the island. This observation supports the idea that Rongorongo writing may have developed independently, similar to the inventions of writing in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and Mesoamerica.

However, there are some mysteries associated with the Rongorongo writing system. The only two tablets were made from trees felled in the first half of the nineteenth century, when contact with Europeans had already been established. To further study, the researchers radiocarbon dated four more tablets that were removed from the island by missionaries in 1869 and are now kept in Rome, Italy.

The results showed that three of these tablets were made from wood felled in the nineteenth century, and the fourth was made several hundred years earlier, between 1493 and 1509. Thus, the tablet appeared 200 years before the arrival of foreigners on the island. This supports the idea that the Rongorongo script may have been developed in complete isolation.

However, it is interesting to note that the sign was made from a tree that does not grow on Easter Island, but is the national tree of South Africa. Scientists suggest that this tree could have been thrown onto the island from a sunken European ship. It is impossible to say exactly how long the piece of wood spent at sea before it was used to create the tablet.