New research reveals the mystery behind how ancient Polynesians on Easter Island disappeared off the face of the planet.

Over the decades, scientists have argued that the indigenous people Easter Island called the Rapa Nui were wiped out after they exhausted all the natural resources on their small island measuring only 63 square miles.

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Some also say that disease or some sort of pestilence brought by European colonizers in the early 18th century led to the demise of the native population., Many of Rapa Nui were captured and sold as slaves.

This new study, however, suggests that existing environmental factors caused the ultimate downfall of the Rapa Nui people as opposed to internal or external forces.

Researchers said the natives probably suffered the consequences of extreme environmental changes over a span of centuries rather than a sudden collapse of natural resources or an epidemic that killed most of the population.

According to study co-author Thegn Ladefoged, an anthropologist from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, the results of the study were a surprise as there was little evidence that pre-European contact caused Rapa Nui society to collapse.

While analyzing the obsidian weapons and tools at different sites on the island, researchers discovered that natives shifted their use of the tools in different locations according to the natural resources available. This suggests the natives were attempting to adapt to the changing environmental conditions.

Even if Easter Island is a relatively small island, varying climates around the different parts of the island led to an uneven decline in human populations. One site could have been prone to drought while other sites had a wetter climate but infertile soil. The last site was where the Rapa Nui stayed the longest was both rainy and possessed healthy soil.

This study concludes that environmental barriers including extreme climate caused the death of the islanders rather than a decline in natural resources since this event occurred before Europeans came along.

This study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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