Published May 10, 2026
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The Discovery of a Second Lunar Calendar on Rongorongo Tablet C (Mamari)
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Description
This paper identifies and analyzes a previously unrecognized lunar calendar on the recto of Rongorongo Tablet C (Mamari). By applying a structural analysis to recurring delimiter sequences and "staff and bud" glyphs, the author demonstrates a second calendrical pattern (Lunar Calendar B) that aligns with the known lunar calendar identified by Thomas Barthel (Lunar Calendar A). The study compares the sequence of 29 "buds" in the new calendar with the 31 "nights" in the traditional calendar, proposing that the system may represent an agricultural cycle or an alternating 29/30-day lunar month used by the Rapanui people.
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Dates
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2026-05-10corrected email address, updated content
References
- Barthel, T. S. (1958). Grundlagen zur Entzifferung der Osterinselschrift. Hamburg: Cram, de Gruyter & Co.
- Berrett, P. (2026). The Discovery of a Second Lunar Calendar on Rongorongo Tablet C (Mamari) [Preprint]. Melbourne: Independent Research.
- Englert, S. (1948). La Tierra de Hotu Matu'a: Historia y Etnología de la Isla de Pascua. Santiago: Editorial Universitaria.
- Fischer, S. R. (1997). Rongorongo: The Easter Island Script: History, Traditions, Texts. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Horley, P. (2007). 'Structural Analysis of Rongorongo Inscriptions', Rapa Nui Journal, 21(1), pp. 25–33.
- Métraux, Alfred, Ethnology of Easter Island, Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin, 163 (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1940).
- Rongorongo.org (n.d.). The Rongorongo Corpus: Digital Archive. Available at: http://kohaumotu.org/rongorongo_org/index.html (Accessed: 4 April 2026).
- Thomson, William J., 'Te Pito te Henua, or Easter Island', in Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution for the Year Ending June 30, 1889 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1891), pp. 447–552.