How Did Bananas Arrive in Rapa Nui?
From The Observatory
Source: Dig Labs Project
The introduction of non-native species reveals the seafaring reach and agricultural strategies of the island's builders.
Note to reader:
We hope you find this article useful—it’s an ongoing Observatory research project that will be updated.
If you have expertise or insight on the topic that you think could be useful, please send us a note.
We hope you find this article useful—it’s an ongoing Observatory research project that will be updated.
If you have expertise or insight on the topic that you think could be useful, please send us a note.
Note to reader:
We hope you find this article useful—it’s an ongoing Observatory research project that will be updated.
If you have expertise or insight on the topic that you think could be useful, please send us a note.
We hope you find this article useful—it’s an ongoing Observatory research project that will be updated.
If you have expertise or insight on the topic that you think could be useful, please send us a note.
“How Did Bananas Arrive in Rapa Nui?” by Dig Labs Contributors is licensed by the Observatory under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
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Introduction
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The presence of bananas in Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is a botanical anomaly that provides a critical clue to ancient Pacific contact. This investigation tracks the genetic lineage of these plants to determine if they were brought by early Polynesian voyagers from the west. The introduction of non-native species reveals the seafaring reach and agricultural strategies of the island's builders.
