Glyphbreaker Book

When he successfully deciphered the Rongorongo script of Easter Islandthe mysterious system of glyphs in which the island's original inhabitants had recorded their ritual chants and ceremoniesSteven Roger Fischer gained a unique place in the pantheon of glyphbreakers. He is the only person who has ever deciphered not one but two ancient scripts. Both of these scripts yield clues of great historical importance. Fischer's previous decipherment, of a Cretan artifact called the Phaistos Disk, provided the key to the ancient Minoan language and showed it to be closely related to Mycenaean Greek. Contrary to prevailing archaeological opinion, the Minoans were Greeks, and Crete's Phaistos Disk now comprises Europe's oldest documented literature. Fischer's decipherment of Rongorongo showed that it was not merely a mnemonic device for recalling memorized texts, but was physically read and was the vehicle for creative composition. Rongorongo is thus the only known indigen! ous script in Oceania before the twentieth century. Filled with accounts of the remarkable journeys and cultures he encountered, Glyphbreaker is the exciting story of these two decipherments, by the man who now must rank as the greatest glyphbreaker of all time.Read More