Paleogenetics deciphered the DNA of the ancient inhabitants of Easter Island and concluded that they were relatives of the Polynesians.
According to scientists, the people of Easter Island did not contact the Indians of South America, as previously thought. Moreover, they did not contact people from outside at all until the arrival of the Europeans on the island.
A scientist from the University of California, Lars Fehren-Schmitz, together with colleagues, deciphered the DNA of the ancient inhabitants of Easter Island, who lived before the arrival of Europeans on the island, and compared them with the DNA of people who lived on the island during the decline of civilization. Studies have shown that the island residents did not contact people for several thousand years before the arrival of colonialists from Europe to the island, RIA Novosti reports.
The civilization of Easter Island emerged more than two thousand years ago and after the arrival of the Europeans there, it almost completely degraded due to the depletion of the island's resources and inter-tribal conflicts. Civilization was lost in the middle of the 19th century when the island was occupied by slave traders.
Ivan Slavinsky