HEAS Head Tom Higham et al. publishes on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
More On Article
- Early Gravettian genomic data from Western Europe reveal population movements before the LGM
- At the onset of the Late Gravettian: An updated chronology and stratigraphy for the multi-layered Gravettian open-air site Grub-Kranawetberg I (Austria).
- New Chronology Sheds Light on Human Occupation just before the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum
- Fire, temperature control, and silcrete heat treatment at Diepkloof and Mertenhof Rock Shelters, West Coast, South Africa
- Gerhard Weber and Harald Wilfing Retire
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) with its gigantic statues and treeless landscape has fascinated researchers for centuries. A new genetic study published in this week’s Nature disproves the popular theory that the Rapanui population collapsed as a result of an “ecocide”—a human-caused environmental suicide—and shows that the Rapanui admixed with Indigenous Americans centuries before Europeans arrived on the island.
Ancient Rapanui genomes reveal resilience and pre-European contact with the Americas.
Media Coverage