The population of Rapa Nui , also lie with as Easter Island , interbred with Native Americans before Europeans arrive , despite 3,700 km ( 2,300 stat mi ) between them , ancient DNA suggest . The islanders , once the post horse baby for a people who bring about environmental collapse through overharvesting of resource , also appear to be innocent of this direction , according to the same research .
Rapa Nui is so improbably remote that even find it is considered one of humanity ’s most remarkable achievements before the acquisition of technology like range and expectant vessel . The civilization built there by the native masses was made notable by theenormous carved monolithsthey constructed , but it has fascinated anthropologist for other reason .
One of these is the possibility that the inhabitants sweep on and reached South America . On the one helping hand , it ’s a lot harder to lose a continent than a small island , but on the other , this would have require a voyage almost doubly as long as the one from the Polynesian island from which the Rapanui came .
Genetic testing of the modern population of Rapa Nui has shown a diverseness of origin , but that is distorted by the Europeans who first inspect in 1722 and subsequently kidnapped most of the universe for striver . Now , however , DNA has been found from 15 mass who inhabit on the island , in some cases as far back as 1670 , and whose remains are stored in the Musée de l’Homme in Paris .
The possibility of interchange between Polynesia and the Americas via Rapa Nui has been very controversial , but the presence of intellectual nourishment like sweet tater , which rise in South America , is hard to explain any other style . It also seems the first South American Gallus gallus were Polynesian breeds .
The unexampled study shows that about 10 percent of the stock of the pre - European contact Rapanui was Indigenous American . That means some of the population not only sail all the way to South America , but find their way back to their bantam Zen in the vast Pacific , bringing people they ’d chit-chat with them . Not surprisingly , the Native American genetic inheritance of the population most closely couple peoples from coastal Chile and Peru .
No Ecocide
A more famous controversy about Rapa Nui touch on to the idea that disforestation of the island caused a collapse in food production , lead to famine and war . The estimate was popularise by Jared Diamond in his bookCollapse , but he did n’t come up with it . Many scientist had proposed it before Diamond based on estimates of a peak population of 15,000 and European reports of 1,500 - 3,000 when Europeans visited .
Others , however , have interrogate the narrative . " While it is well give that the environment of Rapa Nui was affected by anthropogenic activity , such as disforestation , we did not know if or how these change top to a universe collapse , " said study generator Anna - Sapfo Malaspinas , of the University of Lausanne in astatement . Diamond ’s book has been presented as an example of the way a well - write account of one side of a unrecorded scientific public debate can take hold of the public imagination and become have wisdom among those without specialist expertness .
The DNA indicate something very unlike . universe crash lead to inbreeding . However , Bárbara Sousa da Mota said : " Our hereditary analysis shows a stably grow population from the 13th 100 through to European physical contact in the 18th 100 . This stableness is critical because it directly contradicts the idea of a dramatic pre - contact universe flop . ”
The finding is consistent with arecent studyundermining the claim a large universe was needed to build so many monoliths .
How the universe negociate to feed themselves after denuding the island of most of its Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is not clear ; perhaps the crop some explorer had brought back from South America helped .
However , one part of the collapse theory does seem to have been vindicated by the young research . The genetic science suggest interbreeding occurred between 1250 and 1430 . That mean ocean trip took position not long after Polynesians hand the island , and that they beat Columbus to the Americas . However , the reason the link stopped is in all likelihood because after vanish most of the palm trees , the Rapanui could n’t make gravy holder capable of such long journey .
The scientific debate about ecological prostration has also become extremely politicized . The lay claim collapse has been used as a warning about the fate that could befall the whole satellite if we shine the forest , but others see it differently .
" Personally , I trust the mind of the ecocide is put together as part of a colonial narration . That is this idea that these supposedly primitive people could not manage their culture or resources , and that almost destroyed them . But the genetic evidence shows the opposition , ” said subject area writer Dr Victor Moreno - Mayar of the University of Copenhagen .
In retain with a more respectful approach to Rapanui civilisation , the authors of this research met with the surviving residential district to look for permission to test the museum specimens and limit the question to be studied . Proof the specimens are closely touch to modern inhabitants of the island will be used to climb up a sheath to institute the cadaver home .
The study is published inNature .
