The image below compares selected glyphs from the undeciphered Indus Valley (Harappan) script and the undeciphered Rongorongo script of Easter Island (Rapa Nui). It lays out 24 somewhat-similar pairs. At face value, it looks like this has to be more than a coincidence! But then you start thinking about how most of the parallels involve simple geometric forms, stick figures, U-shapes, circles, or outlines of plants or animals, which increases the probability of similarities. What really kills the mood is when you realize that the Indus script contains around 400 principal signs, which would make 24 signs only 6% of the total inventory. And there are about 120 signs (at the lower end of the estimations) in the Rongorongo script, which would make 24 signs only 16-20% of the total inventory (at most). Average that out, and you have about a 12% match between the two scripts. Would you call that a "near identical writing system"? So the visual overlap is very limited when compared to the size of either catalog, and the signs shown here are very basic iconographs, which don't lend themselves to systematic correspondence. Scholars noted these superficial resemblances long ago, but they have generally been seen as non-diagnostic, taking into consideration not only what I wrote above, but also the large time gap between the two cultures, the geographic separation, and the lack of any other more convincing evidence linking them. If would be nice if we could read them, but the two scripts still aren't deciphered. Anyone taking any bets on if they come from the same language family?

It's funny how these guys speak as if the ancient people were supposed to be writing messages to us.