Rongorongo Script
Before 1722 CE (possibly much older)
An undeciphered script found on Easter Island that may be one of only three or four writing systems invented independently in human history. Only 25 objects bearing the script survive. The Rapa Nui people had no contact with literate civilizations, yet developed a complex writing system. The script has never been deciphered.
The Rongorongo Script of Easter Island
Unknown — possibly pre-European contact
Rongorongo is an undeciphered script found on 26 wooden tablets from Easter Island. It is one of only three or four writing systems in human history to have been invented independently — yet it appeared on an isolated Pacific island with no known contact with literate civilisations. When European missionaries arrived in 1864, they found the islanders using the tablets for rituals but unable to read them. The last people who could read Rongorongo died in the 19th century.