Text G of the rongorongo corpus, the smaller of two tablets located in Santiago and therefore also known as the Small Santiago tablet, is one of two dozen surviving rongorongo texts. It may include a short genealogy.
Closeup of recto lines 2 (bottom, partial) to 6 (top)
Closeup of verso lines 3 (bottom) to 7 (top)
Part of verso lines 2 (top) to 7 (bottom)
Image: Rongorongo G r (small color)
Rongorongo is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island. It is not yet known whether rongorongo represents true writing or proto-writing. Numerous attempts at decipherment have been made, but none have been successful so far. Although some calendrical and what might prove to be genealogical information has been identified, none of these glyphs can actually be read. If the system is writing and proves to be an independent invention, it would be one of very few independent inventions of writing in human history.
Rongorongo
The Small Santiago Tablet (tablet G) clearly shows the fluting along which the glyphs were carved.
A closeup of the verso of the Small Santiago Tablet, showing parts of lines 3 (bottom) to 7 (top). The glyphs of lines 3, 5, and 7 are right-side up, while those of lines 4 and 6 are up-side down.
A photographic negative of one end of tablet B. The numbers are line numbers; Fin de 13 means "end of [line] 13".
![A photographic negative of one end of tablet B. The numbers are line numbers; Fin de 13 means "end of [line] 13".](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Rongorongo_B-v_Aruku-Kurenga_%28end%29.jpg/494px-Rongorongo_B-v_Aruku-Kurenga_%28end%29.jpg)