Carved with complex hieroglyphic characters, these tablets may represent one of the few independent writing inventions in human history.
A wooden tablet inscribed with undeciphered Rongorongo from Rapa Nui (also known as Easter Island) dates back to the 15th century, well before European arrival. This early dating suggests that the Rapa Nui people developed their own writing system independently of European influence.
The mysterious Rongorongo tablets of Easter Island have fascinated researchers and enthusiasts for over 150 years, becoming one of the most intriguing unsolved puzzles in the field of ancient writing systems. These wooden artifacts are adorned with intricate carvings depicting human forms, animals, and stylized geometric shapes, possibly representing one of the few independent writing inventions in human history.
According to a new study published on February 2 in the journal Scientific Reports, a piece of wood from one of the four Rongorongo tablets preserved in a collection in Rome dates from 1493 to 1509—over 200 years before Europeans first arrived on the island in the 1720s.
Rongorongo inscribed wood preserved in Rome from the late 15th or early 16th century—centuries before Europeans arrived at Rapa Nui. (Photo: ERC Team).
Silvia Ferrara, the lead author of the study and a linguist at the University of Bologna in Italy, stated that the findings support the idea that Rongorongo is an original invention of the Rapa Nui people.
Rapa Nui, located nearly 3,800 km off the coast of Chile, was settled by humans between 1150 and 1280. Although Europeans arrived in the 18th century, they did not pay attention to the locally based writing system until 1864. Missionaries took these four tablets in 1869 and sent them to the bishop of Tahiti, who later forwarded them to Europe.
Ferrara and her colleagues conducted radiocarbon dating on small samples preserved by a Catholic convent based in Rome. Ferrara noted that radiocarbon dating indicated that three of the wooden pieces were made from trees felled in the 18th or 19th centuries, but the fourth piece of wood dates back to a tree cut in the 15th century. She remarked that these pieces existed before Europeans arrived at Rapa Nui and suggest that the Rongorongo script was in use earlier.
The loss and destruction of the Rongorongo tablets is a tragic story tied to the tumultuous history of the island. Epidemics brought by Europeans and slave raids by Peruvians devastated the island’s population, likely eroding the memory of this writing system by the time Eyraud discovered them—remaining inhabitants gradually forgot about the tablets, repurposing them for firewood or fishing line. Some tablets were even reused as boat planks.
Close-up of the text on one of the remaining artifacts.
Today, only 26 artifacts bearing the Rongorongo script are known to exist, scattered across museums and private collections worldwide. These artifacts range from wooden tablets and a chief’s scepter to two breastplates worn by the island’s elite.
The method of carving the script on these tablets may actually provide clues about how they were created. Most of the tablets were carved using shark teeth, but some show evidence of using obsidian for more intricate details.
Dating these artifacts also presents significant challenges. Radiocarbon dating can indicate that some artifacts were created after 1680. However, the presence of a character believed to represent the extinct Easter Island palm, which disappeared around 1650, suggests that this writing system is likely much older.
Possible meanings of some characters have been speculated.
The texts are inscribed in a unique boustrophedon style, where the reader starts at the bottom left corner, reads from left to right, then rotates the tablet 180 degrees to continue on the next line. In fact, the characters on the remaining artifacts can be seen as a marvel of artistic complexity and potential language. Almost all characters have heads that are carved vertically and face forward or to the right, following the writing direction. Images of birds are particularly common, with many resembling the war canoes associated with the supreme god Makemake. Some characters bear striking similarities to rock engravings found throughout the island, suggesting a possible connection between the two artistic traditions.
Efforts to decipher the Rongorongo script have been underway since its discovery, yet progress remains limited. Although part of a tablet has been shown to contain a lunar calendar and another section may include genealogical information, most of the texts remain unreadable. The primary reason for this is the very limited corpus of texts, lack of contextual information, and poor evidence of the ancient Rapa Nui language, all contributing to making Rongorongo one of the most mysterious writing systems in the world.
Despite these challenges, the mystery of Rongorongo continues to captivate researchers. Some scholars believe it represents a true writing system capable of encoding spoken language, while others argue it is a primitive form of writing or a mnemonic device for recording genealogy, dance, or astronomical observations. The debate about its nature—whether it is logographic or syllabic—continues to drive discussions and academic research.
Whether the Rongorongo tablets represent an official writing system or a sophisticated mnemonic tool, they still offer a unique glimpse into a cultural tradition that thrived in one of the most remote places on Earth. As research continues and new technologies are applied, there is hope that these tablets will reveal their secrets, shedding light on the intellectual and artistic life of ancient Easter Island.
