Genetics Study Reveals Easter Island Population Collapse is a Myth
For years, Easter Island (Rapa Nui) has been cited as a cautionary tale of ecological collapse. Known for its giant stone heads, or moai, the island’s population was thought to have dwindled due to overuse of natural resources, leading to societal breakdown. However, a new genetic study published in Nature debunks this long-held theory.
Led by an international team of scientists from the University of Copenhagen, the study found no evidence of a dramatic population collapse before European contact in 1722. “Our analysis shows a stable population from the 13th century through the 18th century, contradicting the idea of a pre-contact collapse,” said Víctor Moreno-Mayar, assistant professor of geogenetics at Copenhagen. The researchers analyzed genomes from 15 Rapanui individuals who lived between 1670 and 1950, finding no signs of a reduced gene pool that would indicate a population crash. The collapse theory argued that the islanders depleted their resources, particularly trees, to build and transport the moai, eventually leading to famine, violence, and even cannibalism. But genetic evidence now suggests that the Rapanui adapted to environmental challenges over centuries, maintaining societal stability until disrupted by European contact. Previous studies had questioned the collapse theory based on archaeological and population dynamics data, but this is the first time genetics has been used to address the issue.
Researchers now believe that while the island’s landscape did change between the 13th and 18th centuries, the Rapanui people were resilient and resourceful. “The population stability shows they adapted to the environmental challenges they faced,” said Bárbara Sousa da Mota from the University of Lausanne, co-author of the study. Moreno-Mayar further argued that the idea of ecological suicide was part of a colonial narrative, casting the islanders as unable to manage their resources, a claim refuted by the genetic findings.