A Study On Easter Island - 1405 Words

Easter Island has long been a puzzling intrigue in the minds of historians, scholars, and the common folk alike. What happened to the once tropical lush forests? How did a civilization erect such impressive statues and why were they erected? And where are the people who erected these statues now? Many of these questions have been explained over the years with circumstantial evidence and preposterous assumptions. However, through careful analysis and meticulous evidence gathering, lead scholars like Joanne Van Tilburg, Jared Diamond, Terry Hunt, and Carl Lipo, have established a comprehensive literature on the history and likely events that happened on Easter Island. One of the debates that continues today is centered primarily around the deforestation of Rapa Nui. An island once thriving with lush tropical forests. On one side scholar’s Tilburg and Diamond attribute the deforestations to societal conflict and degradation while on the other, Hunt and Lipo argue that deforestation was the result of combined human and rat resource depletion. I believe that Easter Island represents a â€Å"tragedy of the commons† scenario in which the isolation of the island, from any other island, contributed to the in-fighting for resources (trees), power (chiefdoms), and prestige (moai), ultimately leading to the extinction of a people and their environment. Diamond in â€Å"Easter Island Twilight†, lays out a compelling case, with the support of Joanne Van Tilburg, that deforestation of EasterShow MoreRelatedEaster Island : A Case Study1483 Words   |  6 PagesName of Case Study: â€Å"Easter Island: A Case Study in Non-sustainabilityâ₠¬  (Foot p.11) Key environmental points: Easter Island is a remotely located island in the South Pacific. The island was first populated in circa A. D. 400 by a group of travelers from Polynesia. The island, shaped like a triangle, was positioned 2,000 km from the nearest inhabited land, and 3,200 km from the closest continental land mass (Foot p. 11). According to David Foot â€Å"the island originally supported a great palm forest†Read MoreThe Mystery Of Easter Island827 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"In Easter Island...the shadows of the departed builders still possess the land...the whole air vibrates with a vast purpose and energy which has been and is no more. What was it? Why was it? said Katherine Routledge, an explorer and archaeologist. People across the globe have marveled at the wonders of Easter Island for centuries. The remains of the island are huge statues called moai, which seemed to be an impossible feat for people of the time. Archaeologists everywhere are gathering togeth erRead MoreEaster Island : Historical Analysis1308 Words   |  6 PagesEaster Island, a mysterious and intriguing land lies on Chilean territory in the South Pacific ocean. The Polynesian people discovered an island that can allow researchers and linguistics to dive in and dig up remains and stories of the past. Easter Island is an isolated historical place that boomed in population and thrived in culture. The name Easter Island was born from the first European, Jacob Roggeveen, to arrive on Easter Sunday in the year 1722. The islander’s culture left a legacy that wasRead MoreEssay about Easter Island and the Environment: A Warning to the World940 Words   |  4 PagesEaster Island and the Environment: A Warning to the World The progression of human development has come with its costs. The environment provides an array of resources available for use or appreciation. However, changing elements of this structure such as by removing trees can bring about unintended consequences. These alterations also can cause problems that cannot be fixed by the human population and as a result the population must cope with the loss if possible. The case study here shows howRead MoreEssay about The Rapa Nui1338 Words   |  6 PagesNui and their arrival on Easter Island. I will cover the basic history of the Rapa Nui and their discovery and habitation of Easter Island. Further, I will review topics such as culture, marriage and family, religion, traditions and more. Rapa Nui is more commonly known as Easter Island, a province of Chile. Its official Spanish name is Isla de Pascua. It is one of the most isolated inhabited islands on earth, located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. The island is triangular in shape, withRead MoreCollapse, By Jared Diamond1450 Words   |  6 Pagesfactor framework he uses throughout the book to analyze the problem. Part two starts with chapter two giving an overview of the two most commonly cited cases of collapse due to environmental overreach: the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia and Easter Island. Covering up to 500,000 square miles, these were extremely fertile lands, watered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Long, long ago, the area was so populated and so prosperous that it has been nicknamed the Cradle of Civilization. But it collapsedRead MoreGun, Germs, And Steel By Jared Diamond1585 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough a unique scale called the five-point framework. This framework considers environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbors, friendly trade partners, and most importantly society’s response to its environmental problems. Every society he studies he applies this framework to determine a possible flaw in the collapse of the society. The novel starts with Montana’s current environmental problems and evaluates societies as ancient as the Mayans and as recent as Modern China. Unlike its award-winningRead MoreSustainability and Urban Development1428 Words   |  6 Pagesthe regenerative ability to support the needed resources for the species in perpetuity. When resources are used faster than they can regenerate their stocks, then the society has the potential to collapse; as was the case for the population on Easter Island. Externalities The largest problem the current economic model and the distribution of resources in society rest on the externalities that are not counted in the system. Therefore, to understand sustainable development the concepts of externalitiesRead MoreEaster Island s History And Decline1305 Words   |  6 Pages In the article by Jared Diamond, many interesting theories are discussed about Easter Island’s history and decline. Diamond makes connections to the environmental challenges we face today and he compares the catastrophe of Easter Island to our current over consumption of natural resources. While this article makes for an interesting read, much of it is offered from a single perspective and little counter evidence is offered. The author writes in a way that could engage a non-academicRead MoreAustralian Aboriginal People: The Rapa Nui of Easter Island and the Tiwi Islanders2723 Words   |  11 Pagesessay I will examine two different cultural groups the Rapa Nui of E aster Island and the Tiwi islanders of Australia’s Northern Territory. My main focus will be on the impact colonisation had on these two different cultural groups. I will explain how these two different cultural civilisations were colonised at different times in history and how this effected each culture. I will describe the differences that occurred on each island and how each group handled the different situations they were put