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The Rongorongo of Easter Island

The C.E.I.P.P.'s Extended Barthel System


Thomas Barthel's transliteration system does not always allow unambiguous reference to every sign encountered. For instance, it is impossible to specify which "adornment" is represented by suffixes o and s (see the list of affixes); the heads of the anthropomorphic series 200-299 sometimes lack one protrusion or both, which Barthel's system has no way of expressing; etc. Barthel's system is thus essentially lossy.

The Rongorongo Commission of the Cercle d'Études sur l'Île de Pâques et la Polynésie (C.E.I.P.P.) has attempted to reduce the lossiness of Barthel's system with these changes and additions:


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