Rapa Niu islanders farmed and fished enough to feed only a few thousand people, too few to decimate society before Europeans arrived, researchers contend.
Early settlers of the island of Rapa Nui are famous for having created massive stone statues. They have also gotten a bad rap as instigators of a population boom that led to ecological and social disaster.
It has been difficult to estimate how many early settlers inhabited Rapa Nui because knowledge remains limited about different farming practices on the island and the range of crops that were cultivated. satellite-gathered data generated from near-infrared light wavelengths that distinguish between rocks and vegetation
“Rock gardening made Rapa Nui soils productive enough to grow sweet potatoes, but we don’t find that this cultivation technique was sufficient to support large numbers of people,” adds archaeologist Carl Lipo of Binghamton University in New York. A comprehensive evaluation of past population sizes on Rapa Nui has yet to be conducted, Davis says. Even if rock gardens occurred in larger numbers than assumed in the new report, his team considers their pre-contact population estimate a solid guide for further investigations.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Study challenges popular idea that Easter islanders committed 'ecocide'Some 1,000 years ago, a small band of Polynesians sailed thousands of miles across the Pacific to settle one of the world's most isolated places—a small, previously uninhabited island they named Rapa Nui. There, they erected hundreds of 'moai,' or gigantic stone statues that now famously stand as emblems of a vanished civilization.
Read more »
Debunking the “Ecocide” Myth: The Real Story of Easter IslandScience, Space and Technology News 2024
Read more »
The Mysterious 'Ecocide' Collapse of Easter Island Never Really HappenedThe Best in Science News and Amazing Breakthroughs
Read more »
Why Ecocide Is the Perfect Revenge on Our ChildrenDennard Dayle humorously imagines an e-mailed diatribe from a mother whose anti-environmental leanings have only been strengthened by parenthood.
Read more »
MAC Football: NIU Legend Jordan Lynch Reminisces In Hall of Fame Induction SpeechLynch was a first-team All-American and a Heisman contender in 2013.
Read more »
RECRUITING: Appalachian State Lands 2025 Utah QuarterbackJett Niu announced his commitment to Shawn Clark's program on Friday
Read more »