|
Rongorongo A-b Tahua Right
Rongorongo ( or ; Rapa Nui: ) is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that has the appearance of writing or proto-writing. Numerous attempts at decipherment have been made, but none have been successful. Although some calendrical and what might prove to be genealogical information has been identified, none of the glyphs can actually be read. If rongorongo does prove to be writing and to be an independent invention, it would be one of very few inventions of writing in human history. Two dozen wooden objects bearing rongorongo inscriptions, some heavily weathered, burned, or otherwise damaged, were collected in the late 19th century and are now scattered in museums and private collections. None remain on Easter Island. The objects are mostly tablets shaped from irregular pieces of wood, sometimes driftwood, but include a chieftain's staff, a ''tangata manu'' statuette, and two ''reimiro'' ornaments. There are also a few petroglyphs which may include ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rapa Nui Language
Rapa Nui or Rapanui (, Rapa Nui: , Spanish: ), also known as Pascuan () or ''Pascuense'', is an Eastern Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family. It is spoken on Easter Island, also known as ''Rapa Nui''. The island is home to a population of just under 6,000 and is a special territory of Chile. According to census data, there are 9,399 people (on both the island and the Chilean mainland) who identify as ethnically Rapa Nui. Census data does not exist on the primary known and spoken languages among these people. In 2008, the number of fluent speakers was reported as low as 800. Rapa Nui is a minority language and many of its adult speakers also speak Spanish. Most Rapa Nui children now grow up speaking Spanish and those who do learn Rapa Nui begin learning it later in life. History The Rapa Nui language is isolated within Eastern Polynesian, which also includes the Marquesic and Tahitic languages. Within Eastern Polynesian, it is closest to Marquesan morphol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austronesian Languages
The Austronesian languages ( ) are a language family widely spoken throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, Madagascar, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and Taiwan (by Taiwanese indigenous peoples). They are spoken by about 328 million people (4.4% of the world population). This makes it the fifth-largest language family by number of speakers. Major Austronesian languages include Malay (around 250–270 million in Indonesia alone in its own literary standard named " Indonesian"), Javanese, Sundanese, Tagalog (standardized as Filipino), Malagasy and Cebuano. According to some estimates, the family contains 1,257 languages, which is the second most of any language family. In 1706, the Dutch scholar Adriaan Reland first observed similarities between the languages spoken in the Malay Archipelago and by peoples on islands in the Pacific Ocean. In the 19th century, researchers (e.g. Wilhelm von Humboldt, Herman van der Tuuk) started to apply the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comparison Microscope
A comparison microscope is a device used to analyze side-by-side specimens. It consists of two microscopes connected by an optical bridge, which results in a split view window enabling two separate objects to be viewed simultaneously. This avoids the observer having to rely on memory when comparing two objects under a conventional microscope. History One of the first prototypes of a comparison microscope was developed in 1913 in Germany. In 1929, using a comparison microscope adapted for forensic ballistics, Calvin Goddard and his partner Philip Gravelle were able to absolve the Chicago Police Department of participation in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Col. Calvin H. Goddard Philip O. Gravelle, a chemist, developed a comparison microscope for use in the identification of fired bullets and Casing (ammunition), cartridge cases with the support and guidance of forensic ballistics pioneer Calvin Goddard. It was a significant advance in the science of firearms identification in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catherine Orliac
Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christian era it came to be associated with the Greek adjective (), meaning 'pure'. This influenced the name's English spelling, giving rise to variants ''Katharine'' and ''Catharine''. The spelling with a middle 'a' was more common in the past. ''Katherine'', with a middle 'e', was first recorded in England in 1196 after being brought back from the Crusades. Popularity and variations Anglophone use In Britain and America, ''Catherine'' and its variants have been among the 100 most popular names since 1880. Amongst the most common variants are ''Katherine'' and ''Kathryn''. The spelling ''Catherine'' is common in both English and French. Less-common variants in English include ''Katharine' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toromiro
Toromiro may refer to the plants: *'' Sophora toromiro'', a legume tree endemic to Easter Island *'' Pectinopitys ferruginea'', a conifer endemic to New Zealand {{Short pages monitor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barkcloth
Barkcloth or bark cloth is a versatile material that was once common in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. Barkcloth comes primarily from trees of the family Moraceae, including '' Broussonetia papyrifera'', '' Artocarpus altilis'', '' Artocarpus tamaran'', and '' Ficus natalensis''. It is made by beating sodden strips of the fibrous inner bark of these trees into sheets, which are then finished into a variety of items. Many texts that mention "paper clothing" are actually referring to barkcloth. Some modern cotton-based fabrics are also named "barkcloth" for their resemblance to these traditional fabrics. Traditional Austronesia Before the development of woven textiles, barkcloth made from trees belonging to the mulberry family ( Moraceae) were an important aspect of the pre-Austronesian and Austronesian material culture during the Neolithic period. Stone barkcloth beaters, in particular, are considered part of the "Austronesian toolkit." They have been found in abundance i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rongorongo Text Ragitoki
The Raŋitoki fragment (Ragitoki, Rangitoki) is a possible rongorongo text, though its authenticity has been called into question. Location This fragment is kept in an undisclosed institution. Description Red ink on undyed (or at least faded) barkcloth, 4.5 × 15.5 cm. The nine glyphs were apparently painted on the cloth with some kind of brush. The piece is reportedly a strip torn from a skirt/loincloth. Bark-cloth cloaks and headpieces were indications of high status in the pre-missionary period. Inks used on bark cloth – made from roots, berries and minerals – were apparently rather sophisticated. The cloth was made from the paper mulberry The paper mulberry (''Broussonetia papyrifera'', syn. ''Morus papyrifera'' L.) is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Asia, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petroglyphs
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images. Petroglyphs, estimated to be 20,000 years old are classified as protected monuments and have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Petroglyphs are found worldwide, and are often associated with prehistoric peoples. The word comes from the Greek prefix , from meaning "stone", and meaning "carve", and was originally coined in French as . In scholarly texts, a ''petroglyph'' is a rock engraving, whereas a '' petrograph'' (or ''pictograph'') is a rock painting. In common usage, the words are sometimes used interchangeably. Both types of image belong to the wider and more general category of rock art or parietal art. Petroforms, or patterns and shapes made by many large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rongorongo K-v London (edge)
Rongorongo ( or ; Rapa Nui: ) is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that has the appearance of writing or proto-writing. Numerous attempts at decipherment have been made, but none have been successful. Although some calendrical and what might prove to be genealogical information has been identified, none of the glyphs can actually be read. If rongorongo does prove to be writing and to be an independent invention, it would be one of very few inventions of writing in human history. Two dozen wooden objects bearing rongorongo inscriptions, some heavily weathered, burned, or otherwise damaged, were collected in the late 19th century and are now scattered in museums and private collections. None remain on Easter Island. The objects are mostly tablets shaped from irregular pieces of wood, sometimes driftwood, but include a chieftain's staff, a ''tangata manu'' statuette, and two ''reimiro'' ornaments. There are also a few petroglyphs which may include ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steven Roger Fischer
Steven Roger Fischer (born 1947) is a New Zealand linguist. Sources * * * 1947 births Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand Linguists from New Zealand Linguists of Polynesian languages New Zealand non-fiction writers Living people {{Linguist-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Barthel
Thomas Sylvester Barthel (4 January 1923 – 3 April 1997) was a German ethnologist and epigrapher who is best known for cataloguing the undeciphered rongorongo script of Easter Island. Life and career Barthel was born on 4 January 1923, in Berlin, and graduated from secondary school in 1940. During World War II, he worked as a cryptographer for the Wehrmacht. After the war, he studied folklore, geography, and prehistory in Berlin, Hamburg, and Leipzig. He received his doctorate in Hamburg in 1952 with a thesis on Mayan writing. From 1953 to 1956, he was a Fellow of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, in 1957 a lecturer in Hamburg, and from 4 July 1957 to 1 February 1958 he was a guest researcher with the Institute for Easter Island Studies at the University of Chile. In order to document rongorongo, Barthel visited most of the museums which housed the tablets, of which he made pencil rubbings. With this data he compiled the first corpus of the script, which he published as '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
