Mystery surrounding ancient Easter Island people deepens

By Will DunhamWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The massive brooding stone figures peering from Easter Island's hillsides are emblematic of the enigmatic people who once thrived on the dot of land in the middle of the Pacific.Scientists said on Thursday an analysis of DNA from ancient skeletal remains ruled out the likelihood that Easter Island's inhabitants intermixed with South Americans before the arrival of Europeans on the island in 1722.A 2014 genetic study had indicated interbreeding between the peo