Researchers have discovered the ancient Polynesian people that lived on Easter Island were apparently not that isolated from foreign civilizations.

Easter Island is located in the middle of the Pacific and is around 1,100 miles from the closest island.

A new genetic study provides evidence these Rapa Nui people mingled with South American natives before Europeans came to the Pacific.

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The study challenges the genetic makeup of ancient Polynesians and shows there is a significant amount of evidence Polynesians on Easter Island made contact with Native Americans a hundred years before westerners arrived in 1722.

Evidence such as crops native to the Americas were found on Easter Island as scientists studied genomes of 27 living Rapa Nui natives. The intermixing of the Rapa Nui and South American races happened around 1300 A.D. and 1500 A.D. These the two races could have traveled back and forth from their homelands.

The Rapa Nui are known for the Moai, which are monolithic human figures erected all over Easter Island. Researchers believe the Rapa Nui made rigorous trips using wooden canoes to build the Moai.

The Rapa Nui people of today is about 75 percent Polynesian mixed with 15 percent European and 10 percent Native American, according to research findings. This racial intermixing with the Native Americans occurred some 19 to 23 generations back.

This genetic study of the Rapa Nui people was published on the journal, Current Biology.

TagsGene Study Reveals Ancient Easter Island People Made Contact with Native Americans, Easter Island, ancient polynesians, easter island polynesians south american natives