06-21-2024, 08:02 PM
This post was last modified 06-21-2024, 08:02 PM by Maxmars.
Edit Reason: grammar
Apparently the idea that the people of Rapa Nui over stressed their environment, leading to population collapse and the demise of their culture... may have been wrong.
It seems that new evidence doesn't paint the same picture.
Apparently when the idea was launched as a theory, most were quick to accept that a population of some 4,000 couldn't possibly have been able to survive on the island...
Except satellite imagery analysis may show that they may have been better at adapting than we gave them credit for. After all, they had managed to live on the island for many generations while maintaining a balance with their environment.
From NewScientist: Easter Island's legendary societal collapse didn't actually happen
Historians have claimed the people of Easter Island overexploited natural resources, causing a population crash, but new evidence suggests they lived sustainably for centuries
The widespread claim that the ancient people of Easter Island experienced a societal collapse due to overexploitation of natural resources has been thrown into fresh doubt. Instead, there was a small and stable population that lived sustainably for centuries before the arrival of Europeans, an analysis of historical farming practices suggests.
Famous for its towering stone statues, Easter Island – also known as Rapa Nui – in the Pacific Ocean is thought to have been inhabited by Polynesians since around AD 1200. At that time, its 164-square kilometres were covered in palm forests, but these were quickly destroyed, probably by a combination of rats and over-harvesting.
According to a narrative popularised by the historian Jared Diamond, the unsustainable use of resources led to runaway population growth and a subsequent collapse before Europeans arrived in 1722.
The islanders mainly supported themselves through rock gardening, a form of agriculture that has been widely practised in places where soils are poor or the climate harsh. Stones are scattered around fields to create microhabitats and wind breaks, preserve moisture and supply important minerals.
Previous studies have suggested that as much as 21 square kilometres of Rapa Nui was covered in rock gardens, supporting a population of up to 16,000 people.
I wonder at the reason why this narrative was "popularized" in the first place... What might have happened there? No speculation... just an honest question....
It seems that new evidence doesn't paint the same picture.
Apparently when the idea was launched as a theory, most were quick to accept that a population of some 4,000 couldn't possibly have been able to survive on the island...
Except satellite imagery analysis may show that they may have been better at adapting than we gave them credit for. After all, they had managed to live on the island for many generations while maintaining a balance with their environment.
From NewScientist: Easter Island's legendary societal collapse didn't actually happen
Historians have claimed the people of Easter Island overexploited natural resources, causing a population crash, but new evidence suggests they lived sustainably for centuries
The widespread claim that the ancient people of Easter Island experienced a societal collapse due to overexploitation of natural resources has been thrown into fresh doubt. Instead, there was a small and stable population that lived sustainably for centuries before the arrival of Europeans, an analysis of historical farming practices suggests.
Famous for its towering stone statues, Easter Island – also known as Rapa Nui – in the Pacific Ocean is thought to have been inhabited by Polynesians since around AD 1200. At that time, its 164-square kilometres were covered in palm forests, but these were quickly destroyed, probably by a combination of rats and over-harvesting.
According to a narrative popularised by the historian Jared Diamond, the unsustainable use of resources led to runaway population growth and a subsequent collapse before Europeans arrived in 1722.
The islanders mainly supported themselves through rock gardening, a form of agriculture that has been widely practised in places where soils are poor or the climate harsh. Stones are scattered around fields to create microhabitats and wind breaks, preserve moisture and supply important minerals.
Previous studies have suggested that as much as 21 square kilometres of Rapa Nui was covered in rock gardens, supporting a population of up to 16,000 people.
I wonder at the reason why this narrative was "popularized" in the first place... What might have happened there? No speculation... just an honest question....
