On 10/9/2012 11:53 AM, Nigel Dyer wrote:
I had thought that they destroyed their own environment through
overharvesting and overhunting, ie the population was to large to live
sustainably. This is not a particualrly religious reason. I had also
gathered that the statues etc were an attempt to appease their gods in
the hope that the gods would get them out of the mess that they had
got themselves into. No Gods appeared to wave their magic wands.
I've had a quick look at some of the summaries of "Collapse" and that
seems to be what J Diamond says as well
Nigel
On 09/10/2012 14:36, Jed Rothwell wrote:
<fznidar...@aol.com> wrote:
The Easter Island society ran out of wood and could not fish. The
society
died out.
They did not die out. They were still there a century or two later when
Europeans showed up. Granted, they were in dire straits. They destroyed
their own environment, apparently for religious reasons. See J. Diamond,
"Collapse."
- Jed
Just read, in Nat. Geographic, article on Easter Island. The best going
theory now is apparently that the rats that the first settlers brought
with them (as food stock, probably) were wildly successful. (No natural
enemies).
They ate all the tree seeds and the forest died out.
Has the sound of truth.
Ol' Bab
