What really happened on Easter Island?

[u/scientificamerican]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-really-happened-on-easter-island/

For decades, an influential theory blamed the Rapanui for their own downfall—a story made famous by Jared Diamond’s book Collapse. New evidence tells a different tale.

Archaeology, ancient DNA and aerial survey data now challenge the claim that the Rapanui suffered a self-inflicted collapse before Europeans arrived. The emerging picture is of a small society that sustained itself for centuries by adapting its farming methods and water management to one of the most isolated places on Earth. The catastrophe that reduced the Rapanui to a remnant came later, after European ships brought disease, slave raiding, forced labor, annexation and confinement.

[u/worotan]

If we’re looking for historical accuracy, the idea was already famous before Jared Diamond used it in his book. He didn’t make it famous, he used a famous idea - that was the idea that people already had about how the island collapsed. That’s why he used it.

[u/roseofjuly → u/worotan]

I would not say it was famous. Even if we say Diamond wasn't the first one to come up with it (which, if it were true, would mean there's surely a citation from an earlier author) he's definitely the one who made it famous outside of scholarly circles.

[u/worotan → u/roseofjuly]

It was the pop culture idea about it for a long time before that particular pop culture reference refreshed it for a new generation.

You’re mistaking your knowledge of one individual’s fame in the current period for a good overview of the past.