It has been referred to as the navel of the world. It contains some of the most profound and confusing megalithic structures on earth. Rapa Nui, as it is known to its inhabitants is considered part of the country of Chile, in the same way the Hawaiian Islands are part of the United States of America.
This tiny island in the South Pacific Ocean, was discovered by Dutch explorer: Jacob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday, April fifth, in the year of our lord 1722. Hence, it received its European label of Easter Island.
The ancient history of this island is shrouded in mystery. The official story behind the large stone images that pepper the island have been subjected to many interpretations, and speculations. These stone images known as Moai have attracted visitors to the island for centuries.
According to the prevailing story, (as told by the inhabitants, who refer to themselves as Rapanui, and the island as Rapa Nui) is that the island was once a large thriving society, but they doomed themselves by degrading their environment. Some time between 1200 and 1700 the island had been completely deforested by its own native population. This was said to have triggered war, famine, and cultural collapse.
Jarod Diamond, a geographer and physiologist at the University of California, wrote in Discover Magazine back in 1995: "the people of Easter Island wiped out the forest, drove their plants and animals to extinction, and saw their complex society spiral into chaos and cannibalism." Diamond later wrote of the danger our modern global society faces, if we don't heed the warnings of this "environmental morality tale."
As devastating as this sounds, new archaeological research is uncovering a different reason for the island's fate. Radiocarbon dating has revealed a story far more complex, than usually depicted. It seems the Polynesians who first discovered the island may have arrived much later than previously thought. They brought with them chickens and rats, both of which served as food sources. What these rats consumed may have contributed to the environmental degradation of the island more than any other factor. Palm nuts provided an almost limitless source of food for a growing rat population.
Another factor that undermines the official story is the logs of the first European explorers to the island, who give conflicting accounts of the condition of the island. The captain reported it as "impoverished and treeless", but one of his commanders wrote of seeing "whole tracts of woodland in the distance". Hindsight. Not so reliable.
Whatever contributed to the environmental collapse, this little triangle shaped island in the South Pacific remains a cautionary tale. Human mismanagement led to its current condition. The half buried Moai will no doubt continue to contribute to tourism for many years to come, keeping this little diamond of an island economically afloat.
However, its megalithic inhabitants may tell of an even older story. Megalithic structures have been unearthed around our globe. They all come with their own stories, but something else is revealed by these structures when seen side by side. Could it be that this is not the first time our world has faced an environmental catastrophe?
We only have echoes from the past, but these echoes reverberate throughout the known world. As humans continue to explore, and acquire new property more unexplained mysteries are uncovered. This insatiable drive for more land and its consequences will be the subject of our next chapter.
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