New evidence upends contentious Easter Island theory, scientists say [View all]

Rapa Nui, known for its stone-carved heads, is at the southernmost point of the South Pacific's Polynesian Triangle. Also called Easter Island, it's one of the world's remotest inhabited regions. (Zhu Yubo/Xinhua/Sipa USA via CNN Newsource)

Katie Hunt
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Published Sept. 14, 2024 11:55 a.m. CDT

Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, never experienced a ruinous population collapse, according to an analysis of ancient DNA from 15 former inhabitants of the remote island in the Pacific Ocean.

The analysis also suggested that inhabitants of the island, which lies about 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles) from the South American mainland, reached the Americas in the 1300s — long before Christopher Columbus’ 1492 landing in the New World.

Settled by Polynesian seafarers 800 years ago, Rapa Nui, today part of Chile, has hundreds of monumental stone heads that echo of the past. The island has long been a place of intrigue.


Some experts, such as geographer Jared Diamond in his 2005 book, “Collapse,” used Easter Island as a cautionary tale of how the exploitation of limited resources can result in catastrophic population decline, ecological devastation and the destruction of a society through infighting.

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https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/new-evidence-upends-contentious-easter-island-theory-scientists-say-1.7038269