Easter Island & Cultural Revolutions & Economics
Unit 1 (Chapter 1 and 2)
Summary of Easter Island
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Polynesians arrived around 1200 AD.
There was abundant forest and wide variety of trees.
Population grew and trees were cut for agriculture and structural materials and to move the
huge stone heads
By 1600, all the trees were gone  no roots, the land failed to hold water, and the soil washed
into the sea.
The work became harder and the rewards fewer
The gap between the haves (religious ruling class) and the have nots (secular warriors) widened.
Social injustice
Revolt of workers
Majority of ruling class was killed
Anarchy broke out among workers – fought among themselves
Starvation and disease became epidemic
10,000-20,000 down to 3,000
Three Major Cultural Revolutions resulting in increased impact of humans on the environment
1) Agricultural Revolution (The Neolithic Revolution)
   Agriculture in this era was subsistence agriculture, which means people were
farming for their own diet (not for sale/profit) and the farmers practiced crop
rotation (letting the fields lay in fallow between planting seasons).
 Without agriculture, the emergence of many of the traits popularly referred to as
“civilization" would not have been possible (e.g. cities, advanced technology, social
hierarchies, organized warfare.)
2) Industrial-Medical Revolution
 Began in England in the mid-1700's with the development of the steam engine
 Began in the US in the 1800's
 It involved a shift from…
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 3 main component of the I.R.
o –
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The new “urbanites” came looking for jobs in factories and a better way
of life. This created enormous new markets for agricultural products
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Big determinant in which areas of the world became commercial
agricultural economies.
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3) Information and Globalization Revolution
 Began in the mid-20th Century
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GENERALLY SPEAKING, cultural revolutions are characterized by improved living standards. This
provides a good segue into a brief look into ECONOMICS…
1) China: Factory to the World
 The Chinese economy has grown at _____% per year
2) China: the bottom line
  But when this growth is at the cost of natural resources and people’s health, it is
unsustainable
 Industrialized countries have environmental laws and regulations to address problems
3) Economics (defined)  the social science that deals with
a. –
b. Economy 4) Economic System - social and legal arrangements people construct to satisfy their needs and
wants
 To improve their well-being
a. –
b. –
5) How is economic progress measured?
 Gross national product (GNP): - all goods and services produced (consumed) by a country
in a given time frame
o The most common indicator of health and wealth
 Gross domestic product (GDP): GNP minus net income from abroad
6) A Better Indicator  Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI)
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7) Benefit-Cost Analysis
8) External costs