RAŊITOKI (RANGITOKI) FRAGMENT: FURTHER ANALYSIS OF A SHORT RONGORONGO SEQUENCE ON BARK-CLOTH FROM EASTER ISLAND

Previously we described a short rongorongo sequence painted on bark-cloth from Easter Island (Schoch and Melka, 2019), the Rangitoki (Raŋitoki) fragment, named after the Rapanui woman who, according to the history passed down with the piece, presented it to a European male visitor in March 1869. Here we expand on our original analysis of some of the ambiguous glyphs found on the fragment. Further we also analyse details of the German inscription that accompanied the fragment in the nineteenth-century watchcase in which the fragment had been stored. Based on the evidence to date, we conclude that the Rangitoki painted sequence and the commemorative note found in the watchcase have a much higher probability of reflecting a past reality than not. We maintain that the Rangitoki inscription represents an authentic addition to the known rongorongo corpus.