Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Anthropology

Showing Original Post only (View all)

Judi Lynn

(162,704 posts)
Sat Feb 10, 2024, 04:19 PM Feb 2024

Undeciphered script from Easter Island may predate European colonization [View all]

By Tom Metcalfe published 1 day ago

A wooden tablet inscribed with the undeciphered rongorongo script from Rapa Nui (also known as Easter Island) dates to the 15th century, long before Europeans arrived. This early date suggests that the Rapa Nui people invented their own script without European influence.



A wooden tablet with glyphs carved onto it.
Radiocarbon dating shows the wood from one of the rongorongo tablets preserved in Rome came from a tree felled in the late 15th or early 16th century — centuries before Europeans arrived on Rapa Nui. (Image credit: INSCRIBE and RESOLUTION ERC Teams)


A tablet of wood inscribed with the undeciphered "rongorongo" script from the Eastern Pacific island Rapa Nui, also called Easter Island, predates the arrival of Europeans there, strengthening the likelihood that the script is one of the few independently invented writing systems.

The wood from one of four rongorongo tablets preserved in a collection in Rome dates to between 1493 and 1509 — more than 20years before the first recorded arrival of Europeans on the island in the 1720s, according to new research published Feb. 2 in the journal Scientific Reports.

Silvia Ferrara, the study's lead author and a philologist (someone who studies languages) at the University of Bologna in Italy, told Live Science that the results support the idea that rongorongo was an original invention by the Rapa Nui islanders rather than being influenced by the writing they'd seen used by Europeans.

The intricate rongorongo glyphs look completely unlike any European letters, lending further support to the idea that the language was developed independently. "Historically speaking, if you borrow a writing system, then you keep it as close to the original as possible," she said.



More:
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/undeciphered-script-from-easter-island-may-predate-european-colonization

4 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Anthropology»Undeciphered script from ...»Reply #0