Wooden tablets found on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the 19th century, thought to display writing or proto-writing. Never deciphered, since the native Rapa Nui said they couldn't read them when asked by the 19th century Europeans. ImageImageImageImage
The first European to notice them was Eugène Eyraud in 1864, a friar stationed on Rapa Nui to proselytize. He reported seeing hundreds of tablets, but 4 years later, a French priest tried to recover as many as possible, and could only find a few. In every hut one finds wood...
Their disappearance might be explained by reports of the native Rapa Nui's apparent disinterest in their survival. This is perhaps connected to European-introduced diseases to the island and the brutal Peruvian slave trade. These might have killed all the literate Rapa Nui. The Bishop questioned the R...Image of Rapa Nui slave tradeEaster Island mass-kidnappi...Historically inaccurate dra...
Rapa Nui also has tons of petroglyphs, the most in Polynesia. "Nearly every suitable surface has been carved." However, there seems to be limited connections between the petroglyphs and the tablets; the petroglyphs aren't "text-like." ImageImageImageImage
Only about 2 dozen of the tablets remain, none on the island, all scattered through museums and private collections. ImageImageImage
Image
Also, shoutout to this dude on Rapa Nui whose job is pretty much roasting Jared Diamond Image

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More from @DilettanteryPod

27 Jun
Time for another art/perception thread that's gonna go...all over the place.

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All of you have seen cave art, right? Either sketches or photos in books or online. If you're really lucky, maybe you've been in a cave yourself with a flashlight or something. But is it possible that the way we look at cave art today hides a key aspect of the art? 🧵
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