Genetic Study Offers Clues to History of Easter Island's Population

Archaeology Magazine ^ | September 13, 2024 | editors / unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

Cosmos Magazine reports that a new genetic study suggests that the Rapa Nui of Easter Island had contact with the peoples of South America and maintained a stable population before Europeans reached the remote island in the Pacific Ocean in 1722. The DNA samples in the study were obtained from 15 Rapa Nui individuals who lived between 1670 and 1950, and whose remains are currently held in France at the Museum of Mankind. "We looked into how the Indigenous American DNA was distributed across the Polynesian genetic background of the Rapa Nui," said Víctor Moreno-Mayar of the University of Copenhagen. "This distribution is consistent with a contact occurring between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries," he said. The researchers were not able to determine where this contact occurred, however. The study did not find any evidence of a dramatic population decline, as would be expected if the Rapa Nui population had collapsed due to environmental catastrophe. "This genetic result seems consistent with the wealth of hard evidence provided by other fields for debunking the collapse theory," Moreno-Mayar concluded. The scientists are now discussing repatriation of the remains in the study with the modern Rapa Nui community.

[SunkenCiv]

• Easter Island "ecocide" theory debunked by ancient DNA | Ellen Phiddian | Cosmos Magazine | September 12, 2024
• Nature

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• Model Of Easter Island Collapse Might Reveal Message For Today [02/11/2008]

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

• A Compound Discovered on Easter Island May Extend Life, Combat Age-Related Diseases [04/29/2024]
• "El Gigante", The Largest Moai Statue On Easter Island That Was Never Erected [02/24/2024]
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• Dry Lake Reveals Previously Unknown Statue On Easter Island [03/01/2023]
• Iconic Easter Island Statues 'Totally Charred' by Fire [10/07/2022]
• 3D technology reveals the mysterious Rongorongo language of Easter Island [10/12/2021]
• Eye in the sky: Drone helps researchers find fresh water in the sea [08/10/2021]
• Polynesians, Native Americans made contact before European arrival, genetic study finds [07/08/2020]
• Easter Island moai statue destroyed by truck [03/06/2020]
• Easter Islanders seek outside help for iconic statues 'leprosy' [03/01/2019]
• Jean-Jacques Savin: Frenchman sets off to cross Atlantic in a barrel [01/01/2019]
• Easter Island inhabitants collected freshwater from the ocean's edge in order to survive [10/12/2018]
• Easter Island's society might not have collapsed [08/16/2018]
• Hat Trick: Researchers Solve a Lingering Mystery About Easter Island's Statues [06/19/2018]
• UCLA archaeologist digs deep to reveal Easter Island torsos [03/18/2018]
• Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named Kon-Tiki [04/26/2016]
• One man's mission to become the first person to swim across the Atlantic Ocean [10/17/2015]
• Humans will be extinct in 100 years says eminent scientist [06/19/2015]
• Did Easter Island Really Collapse? [01/06/2015]
• Dental plaque reveals key plant in prehistoric Easter Island diet [12/19/2014]
• Easter Island's Ancient Inhabitants Weren't So Lonely After All [10/23/2014]
• New study challenges theories on Easter Island collapse [12/12/2013]
• No seafood for early Easter Islanders -- they ate rats [09/27/2013]
• Polynesian mtDNA in extinct Amerindians from Brazil [04/04/2013]
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• Clues to Prehistoric Human Exploration Found in Sweet Potato Genome [01/21/2013]
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• Early Americans helped colonise Easter Island [06/09/2011]
• Rapanui (Easter Island) Under Fire By Chilean Troops [12/05/2010]
• Fighting the Fungus [ Easter Island statues threatened by lichens ] [10/08/2010]
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• July 11 Total Eclipse Among the Mysterious Moai [07/10/2010]
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• Giant statues give up hat mystery [09/06/2009]
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• Rethinking the Fall of Easter Island [ Jared Diamond refuted ] [08/11/2006]
• Did humans devastate Easter Island on arrival? [03/10/2006]
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• Groundbreaking Research Sheds Light On Ancient Mystery (Easter Island) [09/19/2005]
• HIGH Fashion Alert! [01/26/2005]
• The Ends of the World as We Know Them [12/31/2004]
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• REDHEADED SCIENTIST MAKES SHOCKING DISCOVER ON EASTER ISLAND,(captions needed) [10/08/2004]
• Kon-Tiki Replica To Sail, Study Pacific In 2005 [09/06/2004]
• Experts Work To Save Easter Island Statues (More) [03/07/2004]
• Sheryl McCarthy: Being a Handsome War Hero Has Its Benefits (John Kerry, Stud Muffin) [01/22/2004]
• German Firm Hired To Save Easter Island Sculptures [11/05/2003]
• (Prince) Madoc In America [07/10/2003]
• Ancient Navigators Could Have Measured Longitude -- in Egypt in 232 B.C. ! [01/12/2003]
• In the Footsteps of Heyerdahl [09/19/2002]
• In the Footsteps of Heyerdahl [08/16/2002]
• Ancient Vessel Traces Voyages Of The Past [06/13/2002]
• Thor Heyerdahl and the Pyramids of Greece [04/25/2002]
• Explorer Thor Heyerdahl, 87, Dies [04/19/2002]
• Norwegian Adventurer Heyerdahl Dies [04/18/2002]
• Kon-Tiki tour draws to a close (Thor Heyerdahl just about dead) [04/17/2002]
• Scandinavian Ancestry: Tracing Roots to Azerbaijan [12/15/2001]
• Scandinavian Ancestry -- Tracing Roots to Azerbaijan [12/15/2001]

[Zhang Fei]

Smallpox I get, as a reason for population collapse, but I thought syphilis was native to the Americas.

[Carry_Okie]

"This genetic result seems consistent with the wealth of hard evidence provided by other fields for debunking the collapse theory,"

I've always wondered about that theory, even as a child. It was obvious they didn't have sufficient evidence. It just didn't make sense to me that, if there were adverse environmental consequences to "overuse," then the population wouldn't just drop to a sustainable level and stabilize. It only takes about 25-50 people in a tribe to preclude inbreeding.

[Red Badger]

The Incas had to get it from someplace.................

[marktwain]

I thought syphilis was native to the Americas.

Syphilis is native to the Americas. Last I read, the evidence was overwhelming. One suspected pre-Columbian case in Europe turned out to be a completely different European disease.

[SunkenCiv]

It is. There’s continual arguments — data-based on one side and political correctness on the other — but it is ‘native american’. There’s a topic about this in the FRchives.

[marktwain]

The Incas had to get it from someplace.................

Probably the Aztecs.... /S

The idea that syphilis originated in Europe is just another anti-European narrative.

[Red Badger]

It probably came through Polynesia........

[SunkenCiv]

The local folklore recorded by anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl told of a two-tier society during the statue-building era, and how there were two rebellions (perhaps during times of privations of some sort) the second ending in the near-annihilation of "the long-ears" by "the short-ears". The location of the long-ears' fastness is still known, the digs there confirmed one element of the tale, and overall this is consistent with the overall history, prehistory, and folklore of the Polynesians throughout the Pacific, and for that matter, with humans in general.

[Openurmind]

The Chickens too...

[SunkenCiv]

• GP Issues 'Fever and Rashes' Warning as Cases of Medieval Disease Rise in UK [06/06/2024]
• Medieval DNA suggests Columbus didn't trigger syphilis epidemic in Europe [08/17/2020]
• The Worst Diseases in Shakespeare's England [03/28/2020]
• Syphilis widespread in Central Europe even before Columbus' voyage to America [11/23/2015]
• A New Skeleton and an Old Debate About Syphilis [02/19/2016]
• Henry VIII's erratic behavior was likely caused by an NFL-style injury, argue Yale researchers [02/06/2016]
• Yaws: New Treatment Found for Tropical Disease That Was Once Countered With Penicillin [02/14/2012]
• Skeletons point to Columbus voyage for syphilis origins [12/20/2011]
• Solving the puzzle of Henry VIII [03/03/2011]
• Skeleton dating clears Columbus of importing syphilis to Europe [10/25/2010]
• New study blames Columbus for syphilis spread [01/14/2008]
• Origins of Syphilis [It was waiting for Columbus and his crew~~~NEW WORLD] [10/06/2007]
• Yaws Makes A comeback [02/03/2007]
• 'Not a simple answer' for desert's syphilis problem [11/10/2004]
• Italian Skeletons Reveal Old World Diseases [04/13/2004]

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

Bookmark

[Carry_Okie]

Thanks, I have not followed that story at all. But it is fascinating that in the 1960s I was sold a story that contradicted Heyerdahl without having ever heard his synthesis of accounts. All I knew of him was Kon-Tiki. It shows how thoroughly the “greenie” depopulation message permeated media even then. It makes a nice anecdote for the work I’m doing now.

[Openurmind]

Easter Island:

Pre-Columbian South America:

Curious side note... Beards in South America?

[Beowulf9]

I don’t see anything in this article about syphilis? It says, “The study did not find any evidence of a dramatic population decline...” ?

[SunkenCiv]

Heyerdahl noticed that artistic link.

[SunkenCiv]

:^)

[SunkenCiv]

The rest of three Polynesia(/n /ns) keywords, sorted:

• Fingerprints' confirm the seafaring stories of adventurous Polynesian navigators [04/24/2023]
• Iconic Easter Island Statues 'Totally Charred' by Fire [10/07/2022]
• Polynesians, Native Americans made contact before European arrival, genetic study finds [07/08/2020]
• Easter Islanders seek outside help for iconic statues 'leprosy' [03/01/2019]
• Pulemelei Mound [in Samoa, largest ancient structure in Polynesia] [08/25/2018]
• Rat Bones Reveal How Humans Transformed Their Island Environments [06/19/2018]
• Sweet Potatoes Might Have Arrived In Polynesia Long Before Humans [05/12/2018]
• Why archaeologists are arguing about sweet potatoes [04/13/2018]
• These Vacations Don't Pay For Themselves You Know [04/27/2017]
• Why People Say This Disney Costume is Cultural Appropriation [writer is an idiot] [09/20/2016]
• The Sinister, Secret History Of A Food That Everybody Loves [the Curse of the Potato] [05/23/2016]
• Genetics reveal 50,000 years of independent history of aboriginal Australian people [02/27/2016]
• New insights on origin of Polynesians [12/28/2015]
• The Diffusionists Have Landed [02/22/2015]
• Dental plaque reveals key plant in prehistoric Easter Island diet [12/19/2014]
• 10 Mysterious Underwater Cities You Haven't Heard Of [12/14/2014]
• Easter Island's Ancient Inhabitants Weren't So Lonely After All [10/23/2014]
• New study challenges theories on Easter Island collapse [12/12/2013]
• No seafood for early Easter Islanders -- they ate rats [09/27/2013]
• Polynesian mtDNA in extinct Amerindians from Brazil [04/04/2013]
• Clues to Prehistoric Human Exploration Found in Sweet Potato Genome [01/21/2013]
• New Study Reveals First Polynesians Arrived in Tonga around 826 BC [11/16/2012]
• Did Easter Islanders Mix It Up With South Americans? [02/08/2012]
• Samoa Sacrifices a Day for Its Future [12/30/2011]
• Obama Says 'Here in Asia,' But Where Exactly Is Hawaii? [11/15/2011]
• Dingoes originated in China 18,000 years ago [09/13/2011]
• Deep history of coconuts decoded (Colonization of the Americas?) [06/24/2011]
• Early Americans helped colonise Easter Island [06/09/2011]
• Genetic Study Uncovers New Path to Polynesia [02/05/2011]
• Cook Island Christians pray for Sunday flights reprieve [12/27/2009]
• Chicken Bones Suggest Polynesians Found Americas Before Columbus [09/16/2009]
• Rock art find highlights ancient east-west Polynesia links [02/04/2009]
• Epic Voyage To Discover Origins And Migration Routes Of Ancestors Of Ancient Polynesians... [11/06/2008]
• Archaeologists Find Evidence Of Origin Of Pacific Islanders [03/31/2008]
• The Lowly Sweet Potato May Unlock America's Past [03/24/2008]
• Tonga archaeology discovery blow to Samoa's 'cradle' claim [02/06/2008]
• Pacific Islanders' Ancestry Emerges in Genetic Study [01/18/2008]
• Evolution of Counting Is No Simple Operation [01/14/2008]
• 2007 - Year Of The Lapita? (Polynesian Breakthroughs) [12/13/2007]
• Ancient Headless Skeletons Found In Island Grave [10/30/2007]
• Early Polynesians Sailed Thousands Of Miles For Trade [09/27/2007]
• Chicken bones show Polynesians went to Chile (Told ya so!) [06/05/2007]
• First Chickens in Americas Were Brought From Polynesia (came before Columbus) [06/04/2007]
• Polynesians Beat Columbus To The Americas [06/04/2007]
• Drifters Could Explain Sweet-Potato Travel [05/20/2007]
• Polynesian Sailing Myth All At Sea [08/30/2006]
• Polynesian Cemetery Unlocks Ancient Burial Secrets (Lapita) [10/31/2005]
• Tongan Unrest Ripples Out to New Zealand [08/23/2005]
• New Lapita Find Re-dates Known Fiji Settlers (Jomon/Ainu) [07/14/2005]
• Gene study links Polynesians to Taiwan (DNA points to Pacific population's origins in East Asia) [07/05/2005]
• Gene study suggests Polynesians came from Taiwan [07/05/2005]
• Did ancient Polynesians visit California? Maybe so. Scholars revive idea using linguistic ties... [06/25/2005]
• Did Ancient Polynesians Visit California? Maybe So [06/20/2005]
• Powerful Quake Shakes Seabed Near Vanuatu [02/12/2005]
• 3,000-Year-Old Bodies Studied in Australia [08/27/2004]
• Remote Pitcairn Islanders Ordered to Give Up Guns [08/13/2004]
• Volcanic Soils Offer New Clues About The Emergence Of Powerful Chiefdoms In Hawaii [06/11/2004]
• Rat DNA Clues To Sea Migration [06/08/2004]
• Life in AMerican Samoa [01/13/2003]
• Papua New Guinea earthquake... 7.5 [09/08/2002]
• Who Really Discovered America? [07/14/2002]
• Scandinavian Ancestry -- Tracing Roots to Azerbaijan [12/15/2001]