Mysterious Easter Island tablet reveals unique language — that uses ‘heavenly bodies’

Throughout all of human history, written language has only been independently invented a handful of times, including in Mesopotamia, Egypt and China.

Now, new research has revealed that one more civilization — located on Easter Island — may have also accomplished this rare breakthrough, according to a study published on Feb. 2 in the journal Scientific Reports.

Located about 2,300 miles off the coast of Chile, the island, officially known as Rapa Nui, was first settled around 1,000 years ago.

But it was not discovered by the outside world until the 1720s, when European sailors first came ashore, triggering attacks on the local population that contributed to their demise.

While the island became famous for its towering Moai statues, its indigenous inhabitants also had their own system of writing composed of pictorial signs, including animals, plants and “heavenly bodies.”

“The glyphs differ from any known script and, even in terms of inventory, they have no close parallels,” researchers said.

The obscure language — called Rongorongo — has remained shrouded in mystery and undeciphered to this day. In fact, only 27 wooden tablets remain that contain these images.

Only two of them have ever been dated, revealing they were likely created after the European conquest of the island — making it impossible to know whether their language developed on its own.

Intent on clarifying the age of the language, researchers radiocarbon-dated four wooden tablets preserved at a religious center in Rome.

While three of them only dated back a couple hundred years, one — known as tablet D — originated between 1493 and 1509 A.D.

“Such an early age was not expected,” researchers said. “And it shows that the date of the wood was some centuries earlier than the arrival of the Europeans in the 1720s.”

The wood it was carved on was not indigenous to the island, though, indicating it may have been a discarded part of a European ship, researchers said. This could mean that, though the tablet itself is old, the writing is much newer.

However, it’s also possible the writing was inscribed prior to the European conquest of the island, making it rare indeed.

“If Tablet D’s exceptional age indicates that the local population of Rapa Nui could have invented a writing system without influence or input from external agents, Rongorongo could represent one of the few independent inventions of writing in human history,” researchers said.

This could add “a layer of complexity to the narrative of the cultural and historical development of the Rapa Nui inhabitants.”

This story was originally published February 13, 2024 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Mysterious Easter Island tablet reveals unique language — that uses ‘heavenly bodies’."