Easter Island’s ancient inhabitants weren’t so isolated after all

They lived on a remote dot of land in the middle of the Pacific, 2,300 miles west of South America and 1,100 miles from the closest other island, erecting huge stone figures that still stare enigmatically from the hillsides.

But the Polynesian people who populated Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, centuries ago were not as isolated as has long been believed. Scientists who conducted a genetic study published last week found that these ancient people had significant contact with Native American populations hundreds of years before the first Westerners reached the island in 1722.

The Rapa Nui people created a unique culture best known for the 900 monumental head-and-torso stone statues, or moai, erected around Easter Island. The culture flourished starting around 1200 but had fallen into decline by the 16th century.