Genetic Study Finds Native Hawaiians' Closest Kin on Easter Island: First Settlers Crossed 7,100 km by Double-Hulled Canoe in the 1200s
A genetic study published in Science has found that Native Hawaiians and the people of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) are each other's closest relatives among Pacific peoples, Reuters reported. The research, led by population geneticist John Ioannidis with Fox and colleagues, matched 61 percent of pairs in reconstructed family trees across the two populations, a closeness the team verified with four independent methods.
The study concludes the first settlers reached the region in the 13th century, sailing some 7,100 kilometers (about 4,400 miles) by double-hulled voyaging canoe — including a leg of about 2,400 kilometers between Mangareva and Easter Island. The findings add genetic evidence to the long-studied settlement of remote Polynesia, showing the Hawaiian and Rapa Nui lineages share a recent common origin before dispersing across the far Pacific.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 复活节岛摩艾石像（图片：Wikimedia Commons，公有领域，作者 Aurbina）/ Moai statues on Easter Island (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain, by Aurbina)
