Rongorongo: The Easter Island Script: History, Traditions, Text: 14 (Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics) - Hardcover

Fischer, Steven Roger

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198237103 ISBN 13: 9780198237105

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 1997

Synopsis

Rongorongo, Easter Island's enigmatic script and Oceania's only known pre-twentieth-century writing system, is here comprehensively documented for the first time. The author tells the full history of rongorongo's exciting discovery and the many attempts at a decipherment. Pre-missionary traditions surrounding rongorongo are described from previously unpublished material.

Full transcriptions of all the 25 surviving rongorongo inscriptions are provided, along with detailed photographs of nearly every incised artefact. In over six years of full-time research that took the author from St Petersburg to Easter Island, a wholly new picture of the rongorongo phenomenon has emerged. This book is the definitive study of one of the world's most fascinating and eloquent graphic achievements.

About this title

Review

The book is highly recommended for beginners and a fruitful inspiration for advanced readers. (Michael Schlottner, International Review of Anthropology and Linguistics)

the well documented anthology provides a constructive and effective stage in the ongoing discussion as a considerable stimulation for broader attention. (Michael Schlottner, International Review of Anthropology and Linguistics)

Fischer now has complete, readable texts in an ancient form of Greek. Fischer's most valuable contribution is a detailed history of research on Rongoronga ... and a full catalogue of all known Rongorongo inscriptions. These alone will make this book a must, not only for Polynesian specialists, but for all those interested in non-European scripts. (The Times Higher Education Supplement)

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198237103
• ISBN 13: 9780198237105
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 736