Easter Island: Multiple
Lessons
“Environmental Suicide” (Diamond) or
something else?
Very Isolated
Easter Island was annexed by Chile in 1888. It lies 3510 km west of the Chilean mainland.
Easter Day in 1722
Imagine what the first Dutch explorers
thought when they first accidentally
sailed to Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
and saw the statues.
Statistics
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Rapa Nui (Easter Island)is 5 hours (3600 km) by jet
airplane from Chile (2000km from the closest inhabited
island).
The island is triangular and about 20 kilometers long.
(27°S)
Some statues weigh over 100 tons (the largest were
close to 10 meters high).
Hundreds (887) of statues all around the island.
How did it fall apart?
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There is clear evidence that Easter Island once was a
heavily populated (perhaps 20,000 people) and rich
society.
In 1772 the population was estimated at 2500
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There is clear evidence that this big population
collapsed and most of the population died.
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Collapse triggers? Natural or Culturally induced?
Collapse Generic Story
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Natives came originally from Polynesia probably accidentally found Rapa Nui (Easter
Island) while they were lost.
Statues were built by natives cut from soft
volcanic stone on the island.
Society collapsed before the Europeans arrived
caused by overpopulation and poor use of
resources
Roughly
triangular in
shape with
complex
topography
(locally isolated
valleys) and has
3 major
volcanoes.
Geography
Settlement of the Pacific Islands
1000 B.C.
600 A.D.
500 B.C.
1200 A.D.
600 A.D.
800 A.D.
900 A.D.
The Pacific Islands were settled from the northwest,
But maybe 400 AD
probably from Asia and Melanesia, in a series of
and this is crucial
waves in westerly, then northerly (Hawaii) and
to collapse
southerly (New Zealand) directions
interpretation
Moai
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Easter Island has
hundreds of large stone
statues (moai).
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13-32 feet tall
10-87 tons in weight
Thriving Population
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Evidence suggests that Easter Island had a large
and rich thriving society.
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Many house foundations (enough for 20-30K people)
Agricultural Intensification (large composting pits, water dams,
stone chicken houses, stone windbreaks) suggests a lot of food was needed
and grown.
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Society was broken into
11-12 territories or clans
(requires a critical mass population
For such fragmentation. 
~800 people per square mile.
No Collapse
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) must have seemed like
paradise to the first natives of perhaps 100 people.
Forests
Seafood
Plenty of space
Clues to Deterioration
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Pollen in soil samples can show how plant life changes over time.
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Bones of animals show that less and less fish was eaten as time
advanced.
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Bones of humans show evidence of cannibalism.
A statue based economy
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Constructed in 3 waves 1100 A.D.
Statues grew larger and more elaborate as time
went by  some kind of clan one ups-manship
 fairly weird
Economy centered around statue building
Many roads
 Clan based niches in statue production
 Food production concentrated to free up labor for
statue construction
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Why so zealous?
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The stone on Easter Island is the best carving stone in the
Pacific
Society was isolated, so the energy expended in other Pacific
societies (trading, raiding, exploration, and colonization) was
directed inward
Chiefs got stature not by inter-island interaction but by
competing for status by a game of statue one-upman-ship
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Later ones had a pukao, or large stone “hat”
Clan based society, let each clan “specialize” so while each group
had a monopoly on some item, trade between groups was the
norm.
Statue Physics
All these methods require the use of Logs
How were they raised?
1. Transport, Raising, and Food Production issues suggest that
many trees were cut down to provide for statue production
and to clear land for food production.
2. When discovered in the early 1800’s there were no trees on
Easter Island
3. Did Deforestation lead to the collapse?
An Abrupt end
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Statue building, and the complex Easter Island society
ended abruptly about 1600 A.D.
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Incomplete statues still embedded in quarry
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Total number of moai on Easter Island: 887
Total number of maoi that were successfully transported to their final
ahu locations: 288 (32% of 887)
Total number of moai still in the Rano Raraku quarry: 397 (45%)
Total number of moai lying 'in transit' outside of the Rano Raraku
quarry: 92 (10%)
Stone carving tools left to lie
Chicken houses abandonded
Roads left in disrepair
What happened?
Collapse Standard Scenario
 Forests Gone
 No trees on island when discovered by Europeans
 Pollen analysis shows that indigenous palm trees were grown in the
time of early settlers
 large areas given over to food production (upland farms)
 Food supply limited
 upland farms abandoned
 analysis shows large game birds disappeared
 Large fish and seal bones also disappeared (no trees, no canoes, no
deep water fishing)
 Fuel supply limited
 carbon tested early fires were trees, later fires were grasses
 Erosion
 soil eroded from base of statues,
 Unrest
 In the last days statues of rival clans were torn down
Reasons for collapse
 Cults formed and statues were built to worship the cults.
 Many trees were cut down in order to move the statues (log rolling –
compare to Stonehenge)
 Rats ate the seeds leaving the island without trees
 Boats slowly disappeared so people could no longer fish.
 The soil washed into the sea (tropical thunderstorms) because there
were no trees  no means to farm.