A team of international researchers reconstructed the genomic history of 15 ancient Rapanui, who lived on the island in the past 500 years, finding no evidence of a genetic ‘bottleneck’ that would link to a collapse in the 1600s. Their analysis suggests Rapa Nui was home to a small population that steadily increased until Peruvian slave raids in the 1860s forcibly removed a third of the population.
They also found about 10% Native American DNA in ancient as well as present-day Rapanui, supporting the idea that Polynesians may have been crossing the Pacific to the Americas and back well before Columbus arrived in the Americas.
The researchers say their work will also support repatriation of ancestral remains currently held in a Paris museum.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2024/09/12/no-genomic-evidence-for-ecocide-on-rapa-nui-expert-reaction/