In: Asian and African Studies, vol. 30, no. 1
Tomi S. Melka - Robert M. Schoch
Details:
Year, pages: 2021, 137 - 172
Language: eng
Keywords:
“bird”-like motif, glyph of the /600/-class, “Lutz–Terasaki fragment”, mako‘i (Thespesia
populnea), mata‘a, patina, pre-missionary era, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), rongorongo script
Article type: Linguistics, Easter Island
About article:
This article focuses on an antique wooden fragment from Easter Island engraved with a single
rongorongo (RR) glyph. Based on our analysis, we conclude that the most likely hypothesis
regarding this fragment is that it dates to pre-missionary times (prior to 1864) and was part of
some type of weapon or fighting instrument, either of a functional or ritual nature. It may
represent a portion of a handle for an obsidian-tipped spear or knife. The “bird”-like RR glyph on
the fragment belongs in all probability to a category that has previously been connected in the
scholarly literature on RR with “slumber”, and hence “waning”, “demise”, and “death”. Its
presence on a hand-weapon or ceremonial warlike artifact suggests a meaningful real-world,
“non-literary”, context for this glyph.
How to cite:
ISO 690:
Melka, T., Schoch, R. 2021. THE QUEST FOR INFORMATION RETRIEVAL: AN INSCRIBED RELIC FROM ANCIENT RAPA NUI (EASTER ISLAND) – Part I. In Asian and African Studies, vol. 30, no.1, pp. 137-172. 1335-1257. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/aassav.2021.30.1.07
APA:
Melka, T., Schoch, R. (2021). THE QUEST FOR INFORMATION RETRIEVAL: AN INSCRIBED RELIC FROM ANCIENT RAPA NUI (EASTER ISLAND) – Part I. Asian and African Studies, 30(1), 137-172. 1335-1257. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/aassav.2021.30.1.07
About edition:
Publisher: Institute of Oriental Studies
Published: 28. 5. 2021
Rights:
