NUTRIENT DEPLETION AND THE COLLAPSE OF RAPA NUl SOCIETY 1 (original) (raw)

2013

Abstract

R apa Nui (Easter Island) is often depicted as a microcosm for world ecosystem disaster (Diamond 2004; Kirch 2004; Flenley and Bahn 2002). The island is thought to have been settled around AD 700 and by ca. AD 1150 the population had risen to the point where descent groups were defining territorial units focused around spectacular ceremonial platforms and statues (Kirch 1984; Skj¢lsvold 1994; Stevenson 2002). Pollen changes have been interpreted as evidence for deforestation as early as AD 750, and between AD 950 and AD 1400 it is thought that virtually the entire island was cleared as a result of widespread agricultural development to meet the demands of increasingly competitive chiefdoms (Flenley and Bahn 2002). Some researchers suggest that this deforestation led to massive physical erosion and extreme environmental degradation (see for example Diamond 2004; Flenley and Bahn 2002; Kirch 1984,2000,2004; Mieth and Bork 2004; Rolett and Diamond 2004). As a result, it has been propos...

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