A group of US archeologists managed to uncover the secret that allowed the residents of Easter Island, the Rapa Nui, to obtain drinkable water in a land with almost no rivers or lakes. It turns out that rainwater was quickly soaked up by the porous volcanic land and then flowed, along with other groundwater, towards the island's coast. There it mixed with seawater, making it less salty and thus also drinkable.
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The scientific team's findings correlate with tales of researchers from the 18th century, who claimed that the Rapa Nui people drank seawater. Now the archeologists are planning to find out if the locations where the groundwater flows out to the sea have anything to do with the moai — the monolithic human statues created by the ancient Rapa Nui between the years 1250 and 1500.