A study of artifacts from Easter Island may fundamentally change our understanding of the mysterious civilization that once resided there.
After analyzing thousands of ancient pointed stones that once littered the island, researchers from Binghamton University in England have concluded that they were not spearheads.
These findings upend the long-held belief that the people of Easter Island vanished after destroying each other in a war over resources using the mysterious spearheads in battle.
On the contrary, the new study suggests that the objects, called mata’a, were more likely household tools or implements used for ritual tattoos.
They point to the impractical nature of the mata’a as possible weapons for war and argue that the previous theory for the Easter Island civilization's demise was due to scholarly error.
While the remarkable study has been touted as solving an Easter Island mystery, it actually serves to raise new questions about what really did cause the destruction of civilization there.
We don't necessarily want to blame aliens, but let's just say they haven't accounted for their whereabouts at the time.
Source: RedOrbit