Rongorongo tablets of Rapa Nui

Record summary

Rongorongo refers to a small corpus of wooden tablets and staffs bearing glyphs from Rapa Nui, first recorded by outsiders in the nineteenth century. Some researchers have proposed indigenous writing developed before European contact, while others emphasize post-contact stimulus, oral mnemonic use, or uncertainty caused by limited surviving objects and altered provenances. The corpus is important for comparing island literacy, memory systems, and claims of isolated invention. No generally accepted decipherment exists, and proposed readings should be checked against catalogues, provenance records, and specialist epigraphic criticism.