For the ancestress of some Māori tribes, see Rongorongo (wife of Turi). For the settlement, see Beru Island. Rongorongo Type Undeciphered Spoken languages Assumed to be Rapanui Time period Time of creation unknown; writing ceased and most tablets lost or destroyed in the 1860s ISO 15924 Roro Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Rongorongo (pronounced /ˈrɒŋɡoʊˈrɒŋɡoʊ/ in English, [ˈɾoŋoˈɾoŋo] in Rapa Nui) is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that appears to be writing or proto-writing. It has not been deciphered despite numerous attempts. Although some calendrical and what might prove to be genealogical information has been identified, not even these glyphs can actually be read. If rongorongo does prove to be writing, it could be one of only three or four known independent inventions of writing in human history.[note 1] Two dozen wooden objects bearing rongorongo inscriptions, some heavily weathered, burned, or otherwise damaged, were collected in the late 19th century and are now scattered in museums and private collections. None remain on Easter Island. The objects are mostly tablets shaped from irregular pieces of wood, sometimes driftwood, but include a chieftain's staff, a bird-man statuette, and two reimiro ornaments. There are also a few petroglyphs which may include short rongorongo inscriptions. Oral history suggests that only a small elite was ever literate and that the tablets were sacred. Authentic rongorongo texts are written in alternating directions, a system called reverse boustrophedon. In a third of the tablets, the lines of text are inscribed in shallow fluting carved into the wood. The glyphs themselves are outlines of human, animal, plant, artifact and geometric forms. Many of the human and animal figures, such as and , have characteristic protuberances on each side of the head, possibly representing ears or eyes........ ___________ Had to look that one up!! (wink)

The type that you speak using sound waves.