Their (small) civilization did not collapse because of ecological destruction

The traditional version of the colonization of the Iberian Peninsula Rapa NuiOne of the most remote places in the world, the island’s first inhabitants are said to have arrived about a thousand years ago from the mythical land of Hiva, perhaps the Marquesas Islands, guided by the “great ancestor” Hotu Matua. The tattoo artist of the leader of the group of Polynesian inhabitants may have encouraged the sailor to complete the six-week expedition, assuring him that he had dreamed in the past, Towards the rising sun, a glorious field rose,

in their new home and for many centuries they built Famous Moaihuge stone structures or effigies of Polynesian ancestors who originally had their backs to the sea and looked out over the volcanic interior of the island. They also built temples with complex platforms that were used to celebrate rituals and that may have fulfilled other astronomical observation functions. Isolated from the rest of the world, Civilization has collapsed The island was stripped of all its resources: forests were cut down, seabirds were killed, soils were depleted and the environment was ruined. When the Europeans arrived there in 1722, they were baptized as Easter IslandBarely a few thousand people survived.

Overexploitation of resources is the most widespread explanation in academic circles for the collapse of the ancient civilization of Rapa Nui. However, a new study published in the journal Science Advancement challenges this idea of ​​ecocide, pointing to the depopulation of Easter Island Never reached unsustainable levels. “The findings contradict the collapse theory: inhabitants could have been very resilient in the face of limited resources by modifying the environment in a beneficial way,” explains Dylan Davis, lead author of the study and postdoctoral researcher in archaeology at Columbia University (USA).

Easter Island, about 164 square kilometers in size, is made of volcanic rock and is surrounded by white waters making it difficult to access marine resources. To solve these challenges, colonists used engineering Rock garden or a system of mulch agriculture Which consisted of rocks scattered on low surfaces that were partially protected from salt fog and wind and which helped regulate the temperature. The very nutritious sweet potato, which was the staple of their diet, was sown between the stones.

Previous research concluded that the island’s population must have been much higher than the approximately 3,000 inhabitants that Europeans counted when they discovered the area in the 18th century. These hypotheses were based on the extent of the rock gardens on the island’s surface, which up to 19%. In this sense, figures have been used that the Rapa Nui civilization had approximately 20,000 members.

Less than 4,000 inhabitants

The new research includes studies On siteOver a period of five years, rock gardens and their characteristics. Subsequently, with the vast repository of data collected, a technical model was developed that would allow the identification of more cultivation locations through satellite images linked to shortwave infrared spectra.

The team of American archaeologists found that the rock garden occupied only 0.76 square kilometers of Easter Island: Less than 0.5%. Although they admit that they may be unable to identify any small growing regions, this would not make a great difference to their interpretation. If only sweet potatoes were grown in the gardens, They could support about 2,000 people.. But isotope analysis of human remains suggests that more than 30% of the diet consisted of marine resources and other less nutritious foods such as bananas and sugar cane. According to these figures, the Rapa Nui colony may have been composed of fewer than 4,000 individuals.

“There are natural rocks all over the island that have been misidentified as rock gardens in the past,” Davis details. Archaeologist Carl Lipo of Binghamton University (New York) assures that the idea of ​​population growth and decline “is still rooted in popular beliefs and in disciplines like ecology, but work like this shows a different picture.”The lifestyle of these people must have been incredibly painful..you have to think they were breaking rocks all day long,” he stressed.

Seth Quintus, an anthropologist at the University of Hawaii who was not involved in the study, explains that he sees Easter Island as “a good case study in the adaptation of human behavior in the face of a dynamic environment.” The new research and others like it “provide an opportunity to better document the nature and range of adaptation strategies”: “Survival in the more arid subtropics of Rapa Nui, more isolated and geologically pristine, was a major challenge.”