Genetic study links Easter Island seafarers to Hawaii settlement

New genetic research published in the journal Science has determined that Native Hawaiians are most closely related to the people of Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui. The study suggests that a founding population from Easter Island arrived in Hawaii as the first humans to settle the islands.

Researchers used whole-genome sequencing and algorithms to identify matching DNA sequences and reconstruct family trees. The data indicates that the settlers of Easter Island arrived there in the 1200s after traveling from Mangareva in French Polynesia. A subset of that population then embarked on a voyage of more than 4,400 miles (7,100 km) across the Pacific Ocean in double-hulled sailing canoes to settle Hawaii, likely within the same century.

Co-senior authors Alexander Ioannidis of Stanford University and Keolu Fox of the University of California, San Diego, noted that in 61% of the reconstructed family trees, Hawaii and Rapa Nui were paired together. The voyagers are believed to have brought essential plants and animals, such as bananas, taro, sweet potato, and chickens, to support life on the new islands.