eli5: If the Rapa Nui and their culture are still alive, why is Easter Island such a mystery?

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I’m writing a paper and I’m so confused; if the people of the island are still around, how is the island such a mystery? Is it that the Rapa Nui alive were mostly the descendants of slaves or immigrants from the island? I hope this isn’t too stupid of a question but I just can’t find anything addressing it. Thanks!

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Mystery in what sense? There’s pretty decent archaeological record of the island and the history (it’s not very long) of human habitation is reasonably well documented. Of note is that the population was decimated by the ecological devastation the first inhabitants unleashed on the island, and then the European colonization/slave raids so by the end of XIX century only about a 100 or so Polynesian people were left on the island.

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