New Study Shows That Native Americans Traveled To Easter Island Before European Contact
New Study Shows Native Americans Traveled to Easter Island Before European Contact
New findings from the journal, Current Biology , indicate that Native Americans had visited Easter Island before Columbus sailed to the Americas. The study, “ Genome-wide Ancestry Patterns in Rapanui Suggest Pre-European Admixture with Native Americans ,” was conducted by a team of geneticists from the Natural History Museum of Denmark and published on November 3, 2014. The scientists analyzed genetic markers for 27 native Rapanui (Easter Islanders) and found that 8 percent of their genetic admixture came from American Indians. The study’s co-authors, Eske Willerslev and Anna-Sapfo Malaspina, argue that “evidence has been brought forward supporting the possibility of Native American contact prior to the European ‘discovery’ of the island in AD 1722.”
The article follows on the heels of other genetic studies that have linked Polynesians to American Indians, yet these earlier studies had largely been dismissed by archaeologists, usually advocates of the “Bering Strait Theory” of the populating of the Americas, who believe that ancient peoples were too “primitive” to sail the oceans. As early as 1991, University of Hawaii geneticist Rebecca Cann proposed that DNA evidence suggested an ancient contact between Polynesians and American Indians, but she was met with a swift and fierce rebuttal. Cann, a pioneer among geneticists who developed the concept of “Mitochondrial Eve” and the currently accepted “Out of Africa” theory of modern human origins, in turn condemned the “dogmatic” stance of her critics.
Related: The Bering Strait Theory, Pt. 1 How Dogma Trumped Science
More recent studies, for example, “ The Polynesian Gene Pool: an Early Contribution by Amerindians to Easter Island ,” published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 2012; and a 2013 article from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , entitled “ Identification of Polynesian mtDNA Haplogroups in Remains of Botocudo Amerindians from Brazil ;” have made it more difficult to simply respond with dogma. Yet many critics of Polynesian-American Indian contact, such as Matthew E. Hurles from the University of Cambridge, continued to dismiss the genetic data, arguing that any admixture found in previous studies was the result of the Peruvian slave trade in Polynesia promoted by European slave traders during the 19th century.
In this new study, the Denmark geneticists genotyped and analyzed more than 650,000 SNP (Single-nucleotide polymorphism) genetic markers from 27 Easter Islanders and “found statistical support for Native American admixture dating to AD 1280–1495.” Willerslev and Malaspina argue that the evidence suggests that the “Native American admixture event was dated to 19–23 generations ago,” long before the slave trade and well before European contact. In addition, they found European admixture with the Easter Islanders as “dating to AD 1850–1895,” in line with historical evidence and far later than American Indian admixture. The ancestry of the Easter Islanders today is 76 percent Polynesian, 8 percent Native American, and 16 percent European.
Although the distance from Easter Island to South America is over 2,300 miles, the evidence for early contact between Polynesians and Native Americans has always been strong. For example, the sweet potato, clearly indigenous to the Americas, was found by European explorers to also be common across Polynesia, including Hawaii and New Zealand. As early as 1837, scientists such as John Dunmore Lang, in his book, Origins and Migrations of the Polynesian Nation , proposed Polynesian voyages to America. One hundred and ten years later, Thor Heyerdahl’s highly celebrated voyage from South America to Polynesia in the light raft Kon-Tiki , proved that ocean navigation by Native Americans were eminently possible, however Heyerdahl’s lack of scientific credentials meant his voyage made no scientific impact.
Recent studies of the DNA of sweet potatoes appear to confirm that the Polynesians had cultivated it before contact with Europeans, strong evidence of American Indian-Polynesian contact. A 2013 study by a French team, led by Caroline Roullier and Vincent Lebot, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , analyzed the DNA of sweet potatoes collected during the voyages of James Cook (who sailed the Pacific in the years 1768-1779). Using these early and thus uncontaminated specimens, the researchers argued that their “results provide strong support for prehistoric transfer(s) of sweet potato from South America (Peru-Ecuador region) into Polynesia.”
Although Willerslev and Malaspina do not speculate as to whether the Native Americans sailed to Easter Island or the Polynesians made voyages back and forth, the study currently indicates that a voyage from South America is a distinct possibility. More importantly, the new evidence now makes it more difficult to dismiss early Native American-Polynesian contact, and opens up the possibility of other future discoveries. According to Malaspinas, “the findings remind us that early human populations extensively explored the planet,” overturning many long-held conventions. She adds that, “textbook versions of human colonization events—the peopling of the Americas, for example—need to be re-evaluated utilizing genomic data.”
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/11/17/new-study-shows-native-americans-traveled-easter-island-european-contact-157881
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Or Easter Islander's travel to South and Central American, either way there was travel back and forth.
What is interesting is the dogma of scientists that simply don't want to be proven wrong. DNA doesn't lie.
More dogma is that ancient indigenous people were to primitive to travel the oceans. They have a difficult time explaining how the Polynesians travel the vast expanses of the Pacific.
This paragraph covers it.
''According to Malaspinas, “the findings remind us that early human populations extensively explored the planet,” overturning many long-held conventions. She adds that, “textbook versions of human colonization events—the peopling of the Americas, for example—need to be re-evaluated utilizing genomic data.”
I had always understood (or been taught) that the Polynesians made the first trips Eastward and contacted the natives of South America and that it was they who first landed on Easter Island. However it's still my understanding that it's not been proven either way. Of course it's been a looooog time since History class and I'm sure a lot new has been discovered. It's still a fascinating story one way or the other.
It is fascinating Randy. The advances in DNA testing was opened whole new worlds and over turned many of the ''facts'' that were taken as gospel.
WE are all human, all of us share some DNA, 8%?
8% of my DNA says I'm a black man from middle Africa. (scientific fact)
I'm afraid I would need more science to agree with this one. It is beginning to stretch the bounds of extrapolation.
With Kenniwick Man you have a historical and factual provable connection, here? speculation that the Indians had the needed sailing skills to sail counter to the prevailing winds and weather with a sailing rig not seen on earth until the 1000's. But Thor Heyerdahl proved that it could be done with a much simpler sailing rig seen over 5000 years ago from the west.
Until actual evidence comes forth that anyone in the Americas had such high level tech to sail against the westerlies prevalent in that part of the ocean, I'll stick with the Polynesians reaching it first.
There is a certain point where scientific extrapolation becomes speculation. We need more actual proof and less opinion.
How interesting!
I've been watching Forensic Files lately, and all I can say is that if they can figure out a bunch of this stuff, they can figure this out, too! We can do so much more right now than we have ever been able to, before...
At least we can all agree that the earth is more then 6000 years old, I think. I hope.
Dowser, if you research the Tonga Empire which covered a great deal of the Pacific, you can see how all of this could be connected.
Amazing stuff.
LOL, yeah I'm pretty sure that we can dispel the 6,000 year old theory, right along with the flat earth.
I've been researching Louisville statues this afternoon-- an interesting, but difficult subject to research, but I will go and look for it, dear friend. Let me say that I'm not surprised!
My understanding from Astronomy class is that the earth is over four and a half BILLION years old. Now that would be seven 600 million year old days. According to my science professor.
I don't hope, I know....
I was being facetious... But yes! The oldest rocks we have found are right about 4.3 billion years old... Somewhere up in Canada... I was just joking...
DNA evidence has unearthed many surprising findings from history and biology . Thanks for posting this interesting article Kvk ...
Peyey with the advancement in DNA testing old theories are being overturned, new human movement patterns are being shown. I think that it's great and each discovery opens more questions to be answered.
As a counter point, we have the theories of Polynesian Navigation which is the currently accepted scientific theory based upon DNA evidence also. they are looking at the DNA of chickens that are physically known to have arrived in Chile before the Spaniards. (chickens are not native to the Americas they are native to Asia/China) this was done thru ancient chicken bones found in excavations that have been dated hundreds of years before the Spaniards are known to have brought chickens with them to S America. The DNA analysis matches them to Asian chicken DNA which leads to speculation that the Polynesians had reached the Americas over a thousand years ago. With some very convincing direct DNA evidence for proof. And Carbon 13 dating of the timeline.
This is why the current accepted scientific theory is the Polynesians were the first to reach South America.
The DNA goes both ways, but the chicken DNA proof is a lot more than 8% One has to ask how did Asian chickens reach the new world centuries before the Spaniards brought them.
So it is competing theories. with the current accepted one having a lot more scientific proof to go with the speculation.
Not trying to be argumentative, just get all the facts out there for consideration.
Researching even more, we find that the chicken DNA scenario has been discredited, re-credited and discredited again based on differing DNA exams. So the science is still out on the chicken origination scenario.
More research shows that there are LOTS and LOTS of theories being scientifically studied concerning how the Americas were populated.
Of course it is well accepted science that the Norse were here long before Columbus, and there is some DNA evidence to show that there are Polynesian influences in South America that predate even the Inuits arrival on the continents but nothing concrete.
There are even some theories that challenge the long held belief of the peoples of North and South America crossed the land/ice bridge from Siberia.
Extensive article on Wiki with many hyper links to source documents and articles concerning pre-columbian human contact from all over the world. (if you really want to research all the various theories)
(seems like everyone has a theory and some science to go with them)
This is definitely not settled science.
Hopefully they can get enough evidence to settle some of the questions.
I'm getting hungry . Polynesian style chicken ... yum !