Papers by Rafał Wieczorek
Archaeometry, 2024
Precontact culture of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) produced wooden figurines carved with attention to... more Precontact culture of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) produced wooden figurines carved with attention to detail and featuring careful surface polishing. These figurines depict humans and akuaku spirits. Male figurines usually have bald heads adorned with elaborate designs carved in low relief, depicting human beings, fishes, birds, chimerical creatures, or material objects of Rapanui culture. As cranial carvings swirl around the head of the figurine, it is impossible to document them fully with a single photograph. Several publications show cranial carvings in free-hand drawing. In this study, we suggest a methodology for design unwrapping from nearly hemispherical surface, projecting it onto a plane in a uniform and replicable fashion. To do so, we employ 3D models of figurines' heads obtained with photogrammetric modeling. Although this approach features certain limitations, it permits far richer level of detail and documentation accuracy in comparison to commonly used free-hand drawings.
Rapa Nui Journal, 2020
This paper examines recently digitized photographs from the collection of Walter Lehmann held by ... more This paper examines recently digitized photographs from the collection of Walter Lehmann held by the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut in Berlin. Most of the photographs originate from the expedition to Easter Island organized by Walter Knoche in April 1911. The photographs depict scenes from daily life on Rapa Nui. There are several named individuals who can be identified in portraits and group photographs. Among those, there are previously unknown images of important native leader María Angata Veritahi a Pengo (c. 1853-1915). The existence of this photograph collection shows continuous interest in Easter Island in the work of Walter Lehmann, an important German ethnologist known primarily from his Mesoamerican studies.
The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2023
Rongorongo is a non-deciphered writing system from Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Because the island w... more 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.
Easter Island and the Pacific. Cultural and Environmental Dynamics, ed. Burkhard Vogt, Annette Kühlem, Andreas Mieth, Hans-Rudolf Bork, 2019
John Linton Palmer was a ships surgeon on two Royal Navy ships visiting Easter Island in the 19th... more John Linton Palmer was a ships surgeon on two Royal Navy ships visiting Easter Island in the 19th century. The first brief visit took place in 1852 on the HMS Portland and the second, much more important one in 1868 on the HMS Topaze. From the second voyage we have rich written and pictographic material coming from Palmer. Among his many sketches and watercolours there are those illustrating wooden figurines: moai kavakava, moai tanagata, moai pa’apa’a, and moai moko. Altogether we have illustrations, which are sometimes very detailed, pertaining to some 19 distinct wooden figurines most of these unpublished. The majority of Palmer’s illustrations do not present the whole figurine, but only carvings affixed to the statuettes’ heads. Based on this documentation we can relate some of them to extant original figurines from various museum or private collections. In most cases Palmer’s drawings are the oldest reference to a particular object, often pushing its provenance by many years to the past. The paper will present and discuss this new evidence.
Easter Island and the Pacific. Cultural and Environmental Dynamics, ed. Burkhard Vogt, Annette Kühlem, Andreas Mieth, Hans-Rudolf Bork, 2019
Apparently, every rongorongo text is an open string of inscriptions. The tablets are completely c... more Apparently, every rongorongo text is an open string of inscriptions. The tablets are completely covered in glyphs, with only the direction of writing being certain. Sometimes – due to poor preservation – even the beginning and end of several texts have not survived. However, of those tablets with known starting point we can discern some textual fragments that are preferentially appearing as formal introduction of inscriptions.
We are now also able to carry out a segmentation of rongorongo texts based on the parallel occurrence of shorter and longer glyph passages. Thus, we recognize textual fragments, which in form and content have specific characteristics in common. Foremost among those are the so called d-lists – interpreted on seven different tablets as delimiters. Analogously to all cases of opening sequences we can also discern some textual fragments that appear preferentially at the beginning of d-lists.
With this method we are able to identify three different opening sequences and one closing sequence. This is a very important accomplishment that goes much beyond simple segmentation practiced till now in rongorongo studies. Being able to assign some rongorongo passages to a specific semantic category is a necessary step for further decipherment.
“The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters”. Misconceptions about Easter Island in the Light of 21st Century Science. Ed. & Coord. Zuzanna Jakubowska-Vorbrich, 2018
Easter Island is one of few places around the World where writing was independently invented. Som... more Easter Island is one of few places around the World where writing was independently invented. Some publications say that there were three different writing systems on the island: Kohau Rongorongo, Ta‘u and Mama. Kohau Rongorongo was first reported in 1864, Ta‘u in 1919 and Mama in 1959. This work presents a comparative study of the inscriptions in Rongorongo, Ta‘u, Mama and the texts in Rapanui, the language spoken on the island. Certain structural patterns of rongorongo resemble those of a Polynesian language written in a syllabic notation. In contrast, Ta‘u and Mama lack these combinatorial properties. Our analysis suggests that Kohau Rongorongo has high chances to be a script, which is not the case of Ta‘u and Mama that seem to be imitations of Rongorongo developed at the late stage.
Cryptologia, 2017
This article discusses a possible identification of a duplication marker in the rongorongo script... more This article discusses a possible identification of a duplication marker in the rongorongo script. Several structural observations as well as statistical analysis point to “split circles” glyph as a likely bearer of reduplication functions. This notion springs from internal analysis of the genealogy portion in the Small Santiago Tablet as well as syntax patterns exhibited by “split circles” in other inscriptions. As a result of the analysis performed in this work, several semantically constrained meanings for “split circles” glyphs are proposed. All of them relate to the doubling character of “split circles.” If the identification is correct, it might be an advancement in our understanding of the rongorongo script and could allow for further progress in the decipherment.
Rapa Nui Journal, 2016
Two unique Easter Island wooden figurines from the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts a... more Two unique Easter Island wooden figurines from the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts are described. After iconographic analysis of their common characteristics and comparison with broader Rapanui statuary, a conclusion is reached in which both carvings are ascribed to a subtype of moai moko design also known as a lizardman. A short discussion is given on the possible meaning and significance of the figurines in the broader context of pre-contact Rapanui culture.
Rapa Nui – EasterIsland: Cultural and Historical Perspectives, Ian Conrich and Hermann Mückler (eds), 2016
Journal de la Société des Océanistes, 2015
This paper presents a detailed analysis of 29 casts of inscribed tablets from Easter Island in th... more This paper presents a detailed analysis of 29 casts of inscribed tablets from Easter Island in the collections of musée du quai Branly. The major number of the casts covers the tablets from the Congregations of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Rome). Two sets of casts document Saint Petersburg tablets. The remaining casts represent two Washington tablets, two Vienna tablets, two Santiago tablets as well as two artefacts from the British Museum (London tablet and Small London reimiro), and a cast of now-lost Lateran tablet. We discuss in detail the casts that are unique for the collection the replica of Large Vienna tablet that displays more glyphs than the present-day artefact, and the cast of Lateran tablet. It was also shown that the cast of Small Santiago tablet is not faithful to the original but rather made after artistic reproduction of the tablet based on the tracings published in 1875 by Philippi.
Rapa Nui Journal, 2011
In the rongorongo script we encounter many anthropomorphic glyphs with an enlarged body and a hol... more In the rongorongo script we encounter many anthropomorphic glyphs with an enlarged body and a hole in the belly. Based primarily on structural evidence present in parallel passages, it is argued that hollow-belly glyphs are in fact a compact form of two normal-belly single anthropomorphic glyphs. The scriptural evolution from two single-body glyphs into one double-body glyph was gradual and its various stages can be seen in different rongorongo inscriptions. The presence of these double-body (hollow-belly) glyphs may well be an indicator of the late chronological association of a text. Bearing this in mind, different rongorongo inscriptions can be classified into older and younger forms. Other palaeographic differences can also be employed for similar classifications. The forms of glyphs 099 and 522 also bear evidence for gradual change from more pictorial forms into other, more simplified forms. A reading of the related literature shows more scribal differences in other rongorongo glyphs as well. By combining various scribal differences together with the analysis of hollow-belly and 099/522 glyphs, most of the existing rongorongo inscriptions can be classified into a chronological list of texts based on their apparent palaeographic chronology. Comparing this list to the artifacts of known manufacture date reveals that palaeographic differences were probably developing quite quickly in rongorongo script evolution and that at least half of all known rongorongo artifacts were probably manufactured in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Journal de la Société des Océanistes, 2011
The field of rongorongo research: the study of Easter Island’s native script is in a peculiar sta... more The field of rongorongo research: the study of Easter Island’s native script is in a peculiar state at the moment. While relative progress has been made in structural and statistical analysis in the last decades, at the level of both single glyphs as well as entire texts, little to no advancement has been achieved in the actual decipherment. To shed new light on rongorongo research, a hypothesis regarding the contents of tablet Keiti, one of the 25 obtained artifacts, is proposed. Th e content, as well as the meaning, of all but one of these 25 rongorongo texts is still unknown. In this publication, an interpretation for the recto side of tablet Keiti is presented. It is argued that the tablet contains astronomical observations or instructions regarding the Rapa Nui lunar calendar, and is similar in content to the only other rongorongo text whose function has been partially ascertained: tablet Mamari. If the calendrical contents of this artifact were confirmed, this would be a major boost to our understanding of Oceania’s only native script.
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Papers by Rafał Wieczorek
We are now also able to carry out a segmentation of rongorongo texts based on the parallel occurrence of shorter and longer glyph passages. Thus, we recognize textual fragments, which in form and content have specific characteristics in common. Foremost among those are the so called d-lists – interpreted on seven different tablets as delimiters. Analogously to all cases of opening sequences we can also discern some textual fragments that appear preferentially at the beginning of d-lists.
With this method we are able to identify three different opening sequences and one closing sequence. This is a very important accomplishment that goes much beyond simple segmentation practiced till now in rongorongo studies. Being able to assign some rongorongo passages to a specific semantic category is a necessary step for further decipherment.
We are now also able to carry out a segmentation of rongorongo texts based on the parallel occurrence of shorter and longer glyph passages. Thus, we recognize textual fragments, which in form and content have specific characteristics in common. Foremost among those are the so called d-lists – interpreted on seven different tablets as delimiters. Analogously to all cases of opening sequences we can also discern some textual fragments that appear preferentially at the beginning of d-lists.
With this method we are able to identify three different opening sequences and one closing sequence. This is a very important accomplishment that goes much beyond simple segmentation practiced till now in rongorongo studies. Being able to assign some rongorongo passages to a specific semantic category is a necessary step for further decipherment.