Scientists make a remarkable discovery at one of the most isolated places on Earth.
Sitting as a tiny speck of land floating more than 2,000 miles off Chile's coast in the Pacific Ocean, Easter Island stands as one of Earth's most remote inhabited locations.
For centuries, historians have portrayed this mysterious island and its famous giant stone heads as the product of a completely isolated civilisation. But researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden have found evidence suggesting the 63.2 square-mile island wasn't completely cut off over the last 800 years.
Scientists originally believed the first settlements on the island were Rapa Nui in AD 1200, which built the iconic head statues and were cut off from the rest of the world.
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"Easter Island was settled from central East Polynesia around AD 1200-1250," said study author Professor Paul Wallin at Uppsala University. "The Polynesians were skilled sailors, so double canoes were used."
Instead, the island appears to have been populated by multiple waves of seafarers who made the journey across thousands of miles of open ocean.
"The migration process from West Polynesian core areas such as Tonga and Samoa to East Polynesia is not disputed here," the study paper reads. "Still, the static west-to-east colonization and dispersal suggested for East Polynesia and the idea that Rapa Nui was only colonized once in the past and developed in isolation is challenged."
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The assumption of complete isolation seemed logical for several reasons. The island's location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from the nearest populated land, made it seem like an impossible place for regular contact with other civilisations.
Additionally, Easter Island's most famous features - the massive Moai statues - appeared to be completely unique. These enormous human figures, carved from volcanic rock and placed on rectangular stone platforms called 'ahu' seemed unlike anything found elsewhere in the Pacific.
The team at Uppsala University analysed archaeological data and radiocarbon dates from settlements, ritual spaces, and monuments across Polynesia - a region encompassing more than 1,000 islands scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean.
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By comparing evidence from multiple locations, they were able to identify patterns and connections that previous researchers had missed. Turns out, similar ritual practices and monumental structures could be found across various Polynesian islands.
"The temple grounds ahu [also known as marae] exist on all East Polynesian islands," Professor Wallin added.
Based on their analysis, the researchers believe the ahu platform tradition may have started on Easter Island before spreading east to west across other Polynesian islands during the period between AD 1300-1600. This would mean that rather than being passive recipients of outside influence, Easter Island's inhabitants were cultural innovators whose ideas influenced other Pacific civilisations.
Modern Easter Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with only a few thousand inhabitants. Despite its small population, the island attracts large numbers of tourists who come primarily to see the world-famous Moai statues.