Rongorongo is a system of glyphs(絵文字)discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that is believed to be a form of writing or proto-writing, though all attempts to decipher(解読する)the inscriptions, found on some two dozen objects, have thus far failed. The glyphs feature a variety of stylized(様式化された)human, animal, vegetable, and geometric(幾何学的な)shapes. If rongorongo is found to be writing, it would be one of only three or four known independent inventions of writing in human history.