Rethinking the Fall of Easter Island

In the prevailing account of the island's past, the native inhabitants-who refer to themselves as the Rapanui and to the island as Râpa Nui-once had a large and thriving society, but they doomed themselves by degrading their environment. In just a few centuries, he wrote in a 1995 article for D...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American scientist 2006-09, Vol.94 (5), p.412-412
Main Author: Hunt, Terry L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ancient civilizations
Archaeology
Endangered & extinct species
History
Human influences
Islands
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In the prevailing account of the island's past, the native inhabitants-who refer to themselves as the Rapanui and to the island as Râpa Nui-once had a large and thriving society, but they doomed themselves by degrading their environment. In just a few centuries, he wrote in a 1995 article for Discover magazine, the people of Easter Island wiped out their forest, drove their plants and animals to extinction, and saw their complex society spiral into chaos and cannibalism. In their book Easter Island, Earth Island, authors John R. Flenley of Massey University in New Zealand and Paul G. Bahn worried about what the fate of Rapa Nui means for the rest of human civilization: Humankind's covetousness is boundless.
ISSN:0003-0996
1545-2786
DOI:10.1511/2006.61.1002