Researchers Date Rapa Nui Script to 15th Century

Why this is here: The Rapa Nui writing system consists of roughly 400 characters, whose meaning and logical structure remain largely unknown to experts.

Researchers at the University of Bologna dated a wooden tablet from Easter Island, known as Rapa Nui, to between 1493 and 1509. The tablet features rongo rongo, a system of pictographic writing still undeciphered by linguists. For decades, scientists believed the script emerged after European contact in the 1700s.

Professor Silvia Ferrara and colleagues used radiocarbon dating on four tablets held in Rome. Botanical analysis helped determine the age of the wood itself. Three tablets dated to the 19th century, but one predates European arrival.

The findings suggest the Rapa Nui people independently developed writing. Only four cultures—Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and Mesoamerica—are known to have invented writing systems independently.

Determining the tablet’s inscription date remains difficult, as the wood's age doesn't confirm when the glyphs were carved. Researchers continue to investigate the origins of this unique script.