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Famed Pacific island’s population ‘crash’ debunked by ancient DNA

Genome analysis adds to mounting evidence against the idea that Rapa Nui’s population collapsed owing to overexploitation of natural resources.
  1. Ewen Callaway
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More than 800 years ago, Polynesians sailed thousands of kilometres across the Pacific Ocean to one of the most remote islands on Earth, Rapa Nui.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02962-w

Read the related News & Views: ‘Population history of Rapa Nui rewritten’

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References

  1. Moreno-Mayar, J. V. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07881-4 (2024).

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  2. Moreno-Mayar, J. V. et al. Curr. Biol. 24, 2518–2525 (2014).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Fehren-Schmitz, L. et al. Curr. Biol. 27, 3209–3215 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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