The Survival of Easter Island: Dwindling Resources and Cultural Resilience
Abstract
In this book, Jan J. Boersema reconstructs the ecological and cultural history of Easter Island and critiques the hitherto accepted theory of the collapse of its civilization. The collapse theory, advanced most recently by Jared Diamond and Clive Ponting, is based on the documented overexploitation of natural resources, particularly woodlands, on which Easter Island culture depended. Deforestation is said to have led to erosion, followed by hunger, conflict, and economic and cultural collapse. Drawing on scientific data and historical sources, including the shipping journals of the Dutch merchant who was the first European to visit the island in 1722, Boersema shows that deforestation did not in fact jeopardize food production and lead to starvation and violence. On the basis of historical and scientific evidence, Boersema demonstrates how Easter Island society responded to cultural and environmental change as it evolved and managed to survive.
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European records from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and Métraux's estimates suggest that the Rapanui population was as small as about 3,000 individuals.
“European records from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and Métraux’s estimates suggest that the Rapanui population was as small as about 3,000 individuals16,70.”
From Ancient Rapanui genomes reveal resilience and pre-European contact with the Americas (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
A small Rapanui population of about 3,000 individuals is compatible with a population that would have steadily grown after the initial peopling when assuming pre-industrial growth rates.
“this estimate is also compatible with a population that would have steadily grown after the initial peopling when assuming pre-industrial growth rates16,70.”
From Ancient Rapanui genomes reveal resilience and pre-European contact with the Americas (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
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A model-based approach to the tempo of “collapse”: The case of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
DiNapoli, R. J., Rieth, T. M., Lipo, C. P., & Hunt, T. L. (2020) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2020.105094 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
DiNapoli, R. J., Crema, E. R., Lipo, C. P., Rieth, T. M., & Hunt, T. L. (2021) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-021-24252-z · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Ancient Rapanui genomes reveal resilience and pre-European contact with the Americas
Moreno-Mayar, J. V., Sousa da Mota, B., Higham, T., Klemm, S., Gorman Edmunds, M., Stenderup, J., Iraeta-Orbegozo, M., Laborde, V., Heyer, E., Torres Hochstetter, F., et al. (2024) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07881-4 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“Although such a small population could have been the result of the proposed population collapse, this estimate is also compatible with a population that would have steadily grown after the initial peopling when assuming pre-industrial growth rates 16,70 .”
InfluentialMieth, A., Kühlem, A., Vogt, B., & Bork, H.-R. (2022) · Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-91127-0_19 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Boersema, J. J.
- Affiliations
- Leiden University (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Boersema, Jan J.
- Venue
- Cambridge University Press eBooks
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Published
- 2015-04-13
- OpenAlex
- W4232970948
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 4.49
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Geography, Planning and Development › Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
- Social Sciences › Demography › Island Studies and Pacific Affairs
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory
- Keywords
- Easter Island, Rongorongo, collapse theory, deforestation, overexploitation of natural resources, environmental history, cultural history, food production, Jared Diamond, social resilience
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