Resources on Rapa

Resource exploitation is clearly a potential cause for the collapse of Easter Island, and it is supported by Diamond’s “ecocide” theory and those who follow a similar view to him. Resource overexploitation started with the Jubaea chilensis palm deforestation, which then triggered the overexploitation of a whole host of resources. Meith and Bork (2005) analyse the soil profile on Poike peninsula to prove that soil erosion was a contributing factor to Easter’s collapse, whereby poor soil fertility (caused by deforestation) halted agriculture, thus depleting resources produced from farming. 

Easter Island’s isolation combined with the population expansion suggested by Bologna and Flores (2008) triggered resource exploitation, exceeding Easter Island’s capacity. Population and deforestation of the Jubaea chilensis palm caused the overexploitation of the resources provided by the palm, for example firewood, building materials for houses, roof thatching, food from the palm nuts, hunting material and canoes for fishing offshore. Diamond (2005) suggests that although Roggeveen found no animals bigger that insects when he arrived on the island, however Diamond (2005) claims that Easter once had the richest seabird-breeding site in Polynesia, once being home to porpoises, turtles, fish, shellfish, rats, seals and large lizards. This clearly advocates resource exploitation, however Diamond provides no evidence to support this point.

Croix and Dottori (2008) implement a model that reconstructs the population, economy and resources on Easter Island. It pretty much summarises resource exploitation as a cause of Easter Island collapse, showing the decrease of forest resources from the reconstruction of forest pollen and corresponding increase in soil erosion (from % Loss on Ignition), which triggered a decrease in agricultural resources. It also illustrates evidence from charcoal particles that were used to reconstruct population increases, which is a trigger for resource overexploitation. The figure below represents the model results from this study.

However, Rainbird (2002) has challenged the view that resource degradation was the principle cause of the collapse of the Easter Island economy and society. Although Rainbird acknowledges that extensive environmental degradation may have occurred on other resource-poor and relatively small Pacific Islands, instead he maintains that contact with the “material culture” and “diseases” brought by Europeans was the more likely source of the demise of Easter Island. Hunt and Lipo (2007) also challenge this view, suggesting alternative theories (some already covered in this blog) such as rats causing deforestation, the capture of Islanders for slave trade and the arrival of Europeans brought diseases that the Islanders were not immune to. The impact of the arrival of the Europeans and their disease will be analysed in the next post.

References

Diamond, J. (2005) Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive London: Allen Lane