Rethinking Easter Island’s Historic “Collapse”
The first European ships noted in their logs that the island was devoid of trees, and that this was unusual, as other large islands of Polynesia were not. This is supported by fossil evidence. The disappearance of trees would severely limit the inhabitants&#x27; ability to find food, both because forests support a more diverse ecosystem and because lumber is necessary to build fishing boats. It&#x27;s unlikely that the island&#x27;s trees would vanish for any reason apart from human deforestation -- in fact, there is evidence that a vast majority of them were cut down by humans: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sciencedirect.com&#x2F;science&#x2F;article&#x2F;pii&#x2F;S0305440309003732?via=ihub" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sciencedirect.com&#x2F;science&#x2F;article&#x2F;pii&#x2F;S030544030...</a><p>It&#x27;s certainly likely that European contact hastened the islanders&#x27; decline through diseases and other evils of colonization, but the theory here is built on... the fact that stone platforms were built after 1600? Okay. That doesn&#x27;t really explain how the islanders cutting down all the forests on the island prior to European contact could have no effect on its population.