164
TIL about the reverse boustrophedon writing style used by the Easter island people (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by oce@jlai.lu to c/til@lemmy.world
11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Boustrophedon is a style of writing in which alternate lines of writing are reversed, with letters also written in reverse, mirror-style.

The original term comes from Ancient Greek: "like the ox turns [while plowing]". It is mostly seen in ancient manuscripts and other inscriptions. It was a common way of writing on stone in Ancient Greece.

A fun variation is the reverse boustrophedon: the text in alternate lines is rotated 180 degrees rather than mirrored.

The reader begins at the bottom left-hand corner of a tablet, reads a line from left to right, then rotates the tablet 180 degrees to continue on the next line from left to right again. When reading one line, the lines above and below it appear upside down.

I heard about it on a podcast about the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island. They use used the reverse boustrophedon style for their system of glyphs called Rongorongo, which remains undeciphered.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rongorongo

all 12 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Wolf314159@startrek.website 20 points 1 month ago

There is a certain elegance to this kind of writing. I was surprised how easy it is to read. Maybe I have an advantage because I've always made it a little mental game to read mirrored text when I see it either in an actual mirror or from the wrong side of a clear pane of glass. The utility of the ox turn method seems to shine when the inscription is on a tablet that can be held and turned in one's hands.

[-] Skua@kbin.earth 19 points 1 month ago

Are there any scripts in which all the characters are symmetrical across the vertical axis? So that, when written like this, the letters would be the same either way.

Edit: oh wait, I know one! Ogham, from medieval Ireland. There is one character that's not symmetrical, but it's apparently one of the five "additional" characters that do not appear in the majority of known examples of ogham

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

I used to write things in Ogham when I was in high school when I didn't want my teachers to know what I was writing.

My friends and I also wrote notes to each other in Tolkien runes.

We might have been nerdy, but we never had to read our notes aloud in class.

[-] NineMileTower@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's a common misconception that the ancient man was dumb. In no way was ancient man dumb. However, this concept is dumb as hell. Stick to burying statues, Easter Island people.

[-] NegativeInf@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Did I miss the joke? This saves eye movement effort. Each line reading an opposite direction makes reading more efficient.

And didn't the statutes start less buried and the bottoms get further buried by the soft soil flowing due to the trees being cut on the island causing the erosion? Or did I dream I read that somewhere?

[-] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The theory that cutting down trees caused ecological collapse is a myth spread by colonizers. The people of Rapa Nui were thriving and the large trees had likely been gone for centuries due to rat infestations brought by the islanders. You'd think this would collapse their ecology but the Rapa Nui people were ingenuitive. Upon noticing the increased erosion and saltiness in their soil from the sea spray they began planting walled gardens and using a technique called rock mulching that actually improved the soil quality. We actually find that the ruins they left behind are still doing their job to improve the soil with even 3 times as many minerals inside the ruins as opposed to outside them.

When the first europeans stumpled upon this island they originally thought it was a desert from a distance but upon arriving found it to be a bustling land of plenty. There was plenty of food and activity. The skeletons we have found actually showed a more nutritious diet than europeans at the time. I should also address the myth of civil war. There is no evidence of this. There are many obsidian knives but they are often found near gardens. There are no fortresses or watch towers or walls like on Rapa Iti which did experience a period of severe warfare. Its likely these people never saw battle. They even had dangerous competitive traditions that may have pacified the more warlike men's desire for glory.

Its actually suggested by the evidence that their population never did collapse before european arrival. After the dutch arrived in the 1700s disease spread quickly and devastated their population. When the spanish arrive some 48 years later and spread a new batch of disease their population had only just barely recovered. 4 years later there were only a few hundred left and all their statues had been toppled by them. I think their faith in the protection of their ancestors was shattered at this point. They began to great foreigners with weapons

[-] cabbage@piefed.social 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I think you missed the joke.

(Also, regarding trees on Easter island, it's a popular theory, but if I remember correctly it has been a bit debunked in recent years)

[-] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

They actually never buried their statues. The ones you see in the dirt were the ones that broke during transportation and never made it to the coast to be placed on a pedestal.

[-] NineMileTower@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Oh, wow. You should post that in TIL.

[-] fern@lemmy.autism.place 9 points 1 month ago

Less time moving from line to line, and due to the alternating you would have a much harder time accidentally skipping lines.

this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2024
164 points (100.0% liked)

Today I Learned

17820 readers
821 users here now

What did you learn today? Share it with us!

We learn something new every day. This is a community dedicated to informing each other and helping to spread knowledge.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)

Rule 1- All posts must begin with TIL. Linking to a source of info is optional, but highly recommended as it helps to spark discussion.

** Posts must be about an actual fact that you have learned, but it doesn't matter if you learned it today. See Rule 6 for all exceptions.**

Rule 2- Your post subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material.

Your post subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material. You will be warned first, banned second.

Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.

Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.

Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Posts and comments which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.

Rule 6- Regarding non-TIL posts.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-TIL posts using the [META] tag on your post title.

Rule 7- You can't harass or disturb other members.

If you vocally harass or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

Likewise, if you are a member, sympathiser or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.

For further explanation, clarification and feedback about this rule, you may follow this link.

Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.

Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.

Rule 10- Majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.

Unless included in our Whitelist for Bots, your bot will not be allowed to participate in this community. To have your bot whitelisted, please contact the moderators for a short review.

Partnered Communities

You can view our partnered communities list by following this link. To partner with our community and be included, you are free to message the moderators or comment on a pinned post.

Community Moderation

For inquiry on becoming a moderator of this community, you may comment on the pinned post of the time, or simply shoot a message to the current moderators.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Rooki@lemmy.world
_MoveSwiftly@lemmy.world
Thekingoflorda@lemmy.world
DriftingDeep@lemmy.world
ericisshort@lemmy.world
Decoy321@lemmy.world