(The Rongorongo script. Source: ancient-origins.net)

   (Maps of Easter Island. Source: worldatlas.com)

In the 1860s, missionaries in the Chilean Easter Island discovered wooden tablets carved with unrecognizable symbols. The missionaries asked the Rapa Nui, or the native Polynesian inhabitants of the island, what the inscriptions meant. None of them knew anymore, because the Peruvians had killed all of their wise men in battle. The Rapa Nui themselves used the tablets for firewood and fishing reels. By the end of the century, almost all of the tablets had been used in this manner.

Although it has not yet been deciphered, it is known that Rongorongo is written in alternating directions. You read one line from left to right, then must turn the tablet 180 degrees to read the following line. The script consists of about 120 symbols. The majority of these symbols represent birds, fish, gods, plants, and a variety of geometric shapes. Some of the symbols are whole words, while some are sounds, and even others represent abstract concepts