ESCI 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Jared Diamond, Moai, Lipo Language
6 Jun 2020
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Document Summary
Be familiar with easter island and the lessons we can learn from it: originally inhabited by the rapa nui before europeans discovered" it in 1722. Home to the moai statues that will appear in various stages of repair. Today, the island is sparsely populated and barren, completely covered in grass, with one small village remaining. This village depends on imports from other areas for survival, and is mainly known as a tourist spot. What they found was an extinct species of trees that once densely forested the land. These trees provided shelter, fuel, canoes (fishing), fruit, fibers (clothing), and logs (which was assumed to be how they moved the moai around the island. Scientists concluded that the civilization most likely dissipated because of deforestation. Rapa nui harvested the island for these trees, the soil that was once held together by its roots was destroyed, resulting in the loss of natural resources, soil erosion, and a possible revolt among the classes.
