Abstract

Rongorongo is a non-deciphered writing system from Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Because the island was isolated from the outside world until relatively recently, rongorongo has the potential of being one of only a few instances in human history of an independent invention of writing. However, no scientific consensus exists regarding the time span for when rongorongo was used. Its cessation in the 1860s is well-known but its origins are not. Here, we report on detailed analysis of one of the 23 existing rongorongo artifacts—the Berlin Tablet—including botanical wood identification, radiocarbon dating, and photogrammetric study. The wood used to create the tablet was identified as Pacific rosewood, Thespesia populnea, a species that once grew on Rapa Nui, which counters previous theories that the tablet was made from salvaged driftwood. The radiocarbon date, adjusted in accordance to the ethnographic data, suggests that the tablet was made some time between ca. AD 1830 and 1870. Prior to its collection, the tablet had spent a significant amount of time within a cave context that destroyed around 90% of its content. The text is estimated to have been over 5000 signs long, more than double the length of the next longest rongorongo text.

摘要

Rongorongo是来自拉帕努伊（复活节岛）的一种未破译的书写系统。由于该岛直到最近才与外界隔绝，因此rongorongo有可能成为人类历史上为数不多的独立发明文字的例子之一。然而，关于何时使用rongorongo 的时间跨度尚无科学共识。它在 1860 年代的停止是众所周知的，但它的起源却不是。在这里，我们报告了对 23 件现存的rongorongo文物之一——柏林碑——的详细分析，包括植物木材鉴定、放射性碳测年和摄影测量研究。用于制作这块泥板的木材被鉴定为太平洋紫檀 ( Thespesia populnea)，一种曾经生长在拉帕努伊岛上的物种，这反驳了之前认为石碑是由打捞的浮木制成的理论。根据民族志数据调整的放射性碳日期表明，该泥板的制作时间大约在 公元 1830 年和 1870 年。在它被收集之前，这块石板在洞穴环境中度过了很长一段时间，该环境破坏了大约 90% 的内容。据估计，该文本的长度超过 5000 个符号，是下一个最长的rongorongo文本长度的两倍多。