Unlike an alphabet, which perhaps might have no more than 20-30 signs, the fundamental units of the rongorongo texts are not so easy to define exactly. This catalogue therefore is no attempt to define the fundamental units. As long as the decipherment is unfinished that is out of the question.

The catalogue has a first table containing 8 rows and 9 columns with signs. The table shows 71 'doors' (8 * 9 - 1 = 71) through which to enter into the explorations regarding all the glyphs of rongorongo. The cell MORE (bottom right) is intended for future possible needs for more 'doors'.

A 'door' is identified by row and column, which has lead me to a short label for such a 'door', e.g. GD63 ('glyph door') = the 'door' in row no. 6 and column no. 3 (i.e. the glyph type with a person growing from the middle of something looking like X).

When studying the glyphs in the texts it gradually becomes evident which signs are recurring often and what variations there are. If every variation is regarded as carrying information, then the number of the signs is very high.

My experience with trying to classify glyphs has led me to the selection of the 71 in the table. It is not an objective selection, but a choice based on my personal preferences. The order among the 71 signs is also quite subjective and it is not based on any system at all. The selection is made in order to create a catalogue for using the visual clues the glyphs offer.