8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Undeciphered Rongorongo Script from Easter Island may Predate European Colonization

From the depths of history, a wooden tablet bearing the mysterious “rongorongo” script has been unearthed from the small, remote island of Rapa Nui (also called Easter Island).

This discovery, detailed in a study published in Scientific Reports on February 2nd, provides compelling evidence that the origins of this script predate European contact by more than two centuries, challenging previously held assumptions about its origins.

According to experts, this discovery supports the theory that the rongorongo script is one of the few independently invented writing systems. The wooden tablet, along with three others, is part of a collection in Rome.

The tablet was among four tablets retrieved by Catholic missionaries in 1869. Recent radiocarbon dating conducted on these tablets at the University of Bologna has shed light on their origins. Remarkably, the wood of one tablet was determined to have been cut down between 1493 and 1509, a significant timeframe preceding the European arrival in the 1720s.

Rapa Nui, which sits nearly 2,400 miles (3,800 kilometers) off the coast of Chile, was settled by humans between 1150 and 1280. Although Europeans arrived in the 18th century, they didn’t notice the local glyph-based script until 1864.

The complex glyphs of the Rongorongo script are unlike any writing system found in Europe, suggesting it was an original creation by the Rapa Nui people. There are 27 wooden tablets with roughly 15,000 characters and more than 400 different glyphs among the rongorongo inscriptions that have survived.  However, deciphering this ancient language remains a perplexing mystery.

Only 27 tablets inscribed with the intricate but undeciphered rongorongo script have survived, totaling approximately 15,000 characters and over 400 different glyphs. Image credit: INSCRIBE and RESOLUTION ERC Teams
Only 27 tablets inscribed with the intricate but undeciphered rongorongo script have survived, totaling approximately 15,000 characters and over 400 different glyphs. Image credit: INSCRIBE and RESOLUTION ERC Teams

The analysis also revealed that the wood on the oldest tablet came from a non-native tree species, possibly driftwood. This discovery raises questions about the island’s ecological past and the resources available to its ancient inhabitants.

If additional research confirms that the Rongorongo script predates European contact, it would be yet another independent invention of writing in human history. This would put the Rapa Nui people in the same league as the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Chinese, all of whom developed their own unique writing systems.

Rapa Nui is famous for its archaeological mysteries, including the massive stone heads known as moai, and many people have attempted — but failed — to decipher the rongorongo script.

“Historically speaking, if you borrow a writing system, then you keep it as close to the original as possible,” study lead author Silvia Ferrara, a philologist from the University of Bologna, said in an interview with Live Science.

Rafal Wieczorak, a chemist from the University of Warsaw who has studied other Easter Island tablets with Rongorongo writing on them, is excited about the implications of the dating results obtained by the German and Italian scientists. Namely, the implication that European contact had nothing to do with the script’s invention. But he also notes that further research will be needed to prove the case conclusively.

The wooden tablet, with its undeciphered script, stands as a symbol of the mysteries that continue to captivate us.

Cover Image Credit: Digital Scholarship in the Humanities

Related Articles

The Ancient City of Yijin Among the Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries in China

3 February 2021

3 February 2021

Located in Hangzhou’s Lin’an District, Yijin Ancient City among the top 10 archaeological discoveries in China in 2020. Yijin Ancient...

Ancient Dog Figurines Mini Tea Utensils on Display in Nara

21 February 2021

21 February 2021

Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 794, also known as the Nara period, before moving to the...

Assyrian seal found in the ancient Kef Fortress built by the Urartians

18 November 2024

18 November 2024

An alabaster seal, believed to be from the Assyrian Empire and belonging to a nobleman, was discovered in the ancient...

Archeologists in Peru find a 1,000-year-old adolescent mummy wrapped in bundle

25 April 2023

25 April 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed a more than 1,000-year-old mummy on the outskirts of Peru’s capital, Lima. The mummified adolescent was wrapped...

2,000-Year-Old Artifacts Found at Swat’s Butkara Site in Pakistan, Including Coins and Kharosthi Inscriptions

14 February 2025

14 February 2025

Excavations at the Butkara Stupa, located near Mingora in Swat, Pakistan, have uncovered significant findings, including two-thousand-year-old coins, pottery, and...

The World’s Oldest Mummies “Chile’s Ancient Mummies Older than Egypt’s”

20 February 2024

20 February 2024

At the beginning of the 20th century, mummies dating back 2000 years before the Egyptians were found in the Atacama...

The rich-poor distinction draws attention in the nutrition of the inhabitants of the Ancient City of Pergamon

27 November 2021

27 November 2021

The hegemony of wealth to the poor, arising from the ruler, elite structure, property ownership, unjust acquisition, and distribution of...

Research Shows Early North Americans Made Eyed Needles from Fur-Bearers

3 December 2024

3 December 2024

Archaeologists from the University of Wyoming have found bone 13,000-year-old eyed needles crafted from the bones of various furry animals....

Mysterious Mongolian Arc in Eastern Mongolia Studied for the First Time

30 December 2023

30 December 2023

Researchers have studied the 405-km wall system in eastern Mongolia known as the Mongolian Arc to learn more about its...

Analysis of 13,000-Year-Old Bones Reveals Violent Raids in Prehistoric ‘Jebel Sahaba’

28 May 2021

28 May 2021

Since its discovery in the 1960s, the 13-millennium-old Jebel Sahaba cemetery (Nile Valley, Sudan) has been regarded as one of...

Archaeologists Uncovered a 1,600-Year-Old Rare Mikveh and Synagogue in Ostia Antica, Near Rome

13 March 2025

13 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, researchers have unearthed a 1,600-year-old rare mikveh (ritual bath) and an ancient synagogue at the...

Archaeologists discovered large Roman baths under city museum in Croatia

8 December 2023

8 December 2023

Archaeologists who helped with the restoration work of the Split City Museum, one of the most important and visited museums...

Archaeologists Use Song to Unveil the Legendary End of West Africa’s Kaabu Kingdom

19 March 2025

19 March 2025

As the archaeological discoveries at Kansala, located in present-day Guinea-Bissau, reveal the tangible remnants of the once-mighty Kaabu Kingdom, the...

An ancient bronze hand may be the oldest and longest example of Vasconic script

20 February 2024

20 February 2024

Researchers have discovered rare evidence of an enigmatic ancient language on a 2,000-year-old bronze hand. The inscription on the hand...

Archaeologists reveal 4,000-year-old rock-cut tomb, artifacts in Saqqara

8 January 2024

8 January 2024

A team of Egyptian and Japanese archaeologists has unveiled a rock-cut tomb believed to be more than 4,000 years old...