March
23
/ 2024
It has long been thought that the people of Rapa Nui (popularly called Easter Island) lived a largely isolated existence, cut off from other lands by the vast and treacherous ocean. However a new discovery on the islands suggests that the islanders were in contact with their continental neighbors. The first settlers of Rapa Nui a thousand years ago left behind ancient food remains on obsidian blades, and the analysis paints a fascinating picture. Examination of the starch grains clinging to these obsidian blades indicates that the earliest inhabitants of the island indulged not only in the indigenous plants of Polynesia but also in foods native to South America, located approximately 2,300 miles (3700 km) away. Obsidian Cutlery The study
