Favonius Cornelius Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 The first settlers on Easter Island didn't arrive until 1200 AD, up to 800 years later than previously thought, a new study suggests. The revised estimate is based on new radiocarbon dating of soil samples collected from one of oldest known sites on the island, which is in the South Pacific west of Chile. The finding challenges the widely held notion that Easter Island's civilization experienced a sudden collapse after centuries of slow growth. If correct, the finding would mean that the island's irreversible deforestation and construction of its famous Moai statues began almost immediately after Polynesian settlers first set foot on the island. Lifescience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spurius Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 (very slow load there) It kind of confirms that as long as you have had humans, they've gone out an directly impacted their environment. No judgement call on good or bad...just took over the situation rather rapidly. Ever read "Something New Under the Sun", by (I believe) McNeil? Good overview book on climate history esp the 20th century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil61 Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 (edited) The first settlers on Easter Island didn't arrive until 1200 AD, up to 800 years later than previously thought, a new study suggests. The revised estimate is based on new radiocarbon dating of soil samples collected from one of oldest known sites on the island, which is in the South Pacific west of Chile. The finding challenges the widely held notion that Easter Island's civilization experienced a sudden collapse after centuries of slow growth. If correct, the finding would mean that the island's irreversible deforestation and construction of its famous Moai statues began almost immediately after Polynesian settlers first set foot on the island. Lifescience Interesting. I'm reading "The Collapse of Complex Societies" or I should say slowly plowing through it (not quite bedtime reading). It covers something similar on a larger basis including the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Edited March 16, 2006 by Virgil61 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantagathus Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Hmmmm, I wish Thor Heyerdahl was still alive to comment on this... I think he would convincingly discredit these findings in a couple of sentences. According to all his research & excavations, the evidence was in line with the islander's myth and oral tradition. If there was only one migration, why then did the islanders differentiate between the 'long ears' & the 'short ears'? One group coming at an early period from Polynesea and the other closer to 1200 AD from South America? I mean just cause they have carbon data from one site, it seams reckless to then call all other archaeological data bunk... Seems to me that this is motivated by a political agenda to prove a point about reckless environmental impact... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callaecus Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 The more recent theory would be more reliable if they had more samples from more sites. One is not enough. It's also interesting to notice a recent wave of works concerning the end of complex societies. Can't this be seen as an unconscious reflection of the fears that affect our contemporary society? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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