The people of Easter Island likely did not suffer a population collapse due to "ecological suicide," according to a new genomic study yesterday. The findings instead indicate steady population growth to a peak of 3,000 in the 1860s, far below previous estimates of 15,000.
Known to natives as Rapa Nui, Polynesia's Easter Island is a 63-square-mile special territory of Chile in the southeast Pacific. It is the most isolated inhabited landmass on Earth. For decades, the island—famous for its more than 1,000 massive human-faced stone statues, or moai—was theorized to have suffered a self-imposed population collapse due to resource overuse prior to initial European contact.
Analyzing the genomes of 15 Rapa Nui natives from the last two centuries, researchers revealed no evidence of a genetic bottleneck—or drop in genetic variation—a near certainty had there been a catastrophic collapse. The analysis also revealed Rapa Nui natives mixed with Native Americans as early as the 13th century.
コメント