Rise_of_easter

media type="custom" key="3765863" Back Geography and Climate Events and People Socio-Political Structure Industrial and Artistic Technology Transportation and Weaponry Agriculture and the Economy Essay Bibliography

 Geography and Climate - 163.2km^2 (Wikipedia ) - 3,510km east of Chile, 2,075 km east of Pitcairn (Wikipedia ) - Easter Island is extremely isolated (Fischer, 8) - Rano Raraku, volcanic crater 600 yards in diameter (Diamond, 81) - 50 inches of rainfall annually, percolates into “porous volcanic soils” (Diamond, 83) - Easter island has the largest palm tree, with a trunk found encased in lava over 7 feet wide (Diamond, 95) - The complete deforestation caused massive erosion (Diamond, 93) - Before deforestation the dense tree growth generated lots of rainfall which fed perennial streams (Fischer, 25) - 1100ml average rainfall - most of precipitation occurs in the - dry and cool compared to the rest of polynesia - too cool to support many crops they brought when settlements  Events and People -Easter Island is settled sometime before 900 A.D.(Fischer, 24) - Jacob Roggeveen discovered the island on Easter 1722, hence the name (Diamond, 82) -Settlement was meticulously planned, and probably involved trained scouts making two-way trips who noted the position of the stars for later settlement(Fischer, 16) -settlers and scouts used an assortment of items to make their way across the vast distances separating the islands including phosphorescence which can be seen up to 140km away. - Peruvian slave traders abducted 1500 Islanders in 1862, which at the time was roughly half the population(Diamond, ??) - Easter was annexed September 9, 1888 by Chili (Diamond, 119)

 Socio-Political Structure - There are three main ranks of the Easter aristocracy: ‘urumanu’, a commoner, ‘tuhunga’, an expert in a certain skill or trade (fishing, carving), and ‘ariki’, the nobles (Fischer, 21) - The ‘ariki’ are second to the one ‘ariki mau’ or ‘paramount chief’, of which there was only ever one on Easter Island at any given time (Fischer, 21) - Aristocratic political structure, most of the power, including the power of deciding who lives was held among a few tribe leaders (Fischer, 21) - The island was split up among roughly a dozen different tribes (Diamond, 94) - The island was divided up like a pie, with every tribe getting both coastal and inland territory (Diamond, ??) - priest 'tuhunga' held enormous amounts of power(Diamond)



 Industrial and Artistic Technology - Statues, called Moai, ranging from 15 – 20 feet tall, with the largest being 70 feet tall, weighing from 10 to 270 tons (Diamond, ??) - Moai increased in size overtime, suggesting peaceful competition between tribes (Diamond, ??) - Moai carved out of volcanic tuff found in Rano Raraku - Transport road out of the crater through a notch cut in it’s rim - 97 statues along the road, running out of Rano Raraku, abandoned - The moai faced away from the sea - When tribal unrest and wars began tribes tipped opponent’s Moai - Jo Anne Van Tillburg and her husband predicted that the production of the moai and ahu caused an estimated increase of 25% food requirement over 300 peak years(Diamond, ??) - Easter houses were created totally out of stone, which is in contrast to almost all other prehistoric buildings which only had stone foundations -Other Polynesians create rope from the bark of the Triumfetta semitriloba, and that is probably how the Moai were dragged from the crater to their Ahu (Diamond, ??)



 Transportation and Weaponry - the Islanders used canoes - The dolphin’s that were harpooned could only be found far away from shore, which would require sea worthy canoes - Alphitonia cf. zizyphoides and Elaeocarpus cf. rarotongensis are two of the tallest trees on Easter, up to 100 and 150 feet tall respectively. These trees were most likely used to create enormous canoes (Diamond, ??) - Islanders used spears and their hands to fish



 Agriculture and the Economy - Easter Islanders typically lived in thatched huts - The huts were surrounded by o an ‘umu’ which is an oven built into the ground o a stone chicken house which kept their primary tamed animal food source safe o a stone-enclosed garden which would be used to grow an assortment of crops -taro was very important crop -large scale chicken cultivation, with 1,223 chicken houses -after trees ran out erosion destroyed farm lands -with little food cannibalism took over -stones were added to land to keep moisture 

The Rise of Easter Island ~ Essay
nathan Easter Island was once a beautiful jungle, teeming with a variety of flora and fauna. When Polynesian settlers arrived to colonize it they landed, quite literally, in a paradise. The forest was densely packed with trees perfect for building canoes, and an ocean teeming with fish. They then did as any group ignorant of the consequences would do: exploit them, and they created a highly developed functioning peaceful society. However, as with any unsustainable system, it must come to an end, and despite having a few centuries unmarred with war or disease, the Easter Islanders still did not change the speed at which they consumed resources. The rise of Easter Island, although impressive and sophisticated, was due to an inherently flawed system, one very similar to that of modern North America (ex. Mexico).

nathan The //Rapanui// arrived at Easter Island after an awful journey to a paradise. The jungles were densely packed with an estimated 16 million palms that could reach up to 20 feet in height (Fischer, pg. 8). The forests contained //Alphitonia// cf. //zizyphoides//and //Elaeocarpus// cf. //rarotongensis// which grew up to 100 ft. and 50 ft. respectively (Diamond, pg. 104). The shorelines were brimming with 164 species of fish, and dolphins, whales, and turtles could be speared offshore using enormous canoes (Fischer, pg. 8). The settlers brought along with them poultry, which was important, as every dwelling had a chicken house to accompany it, although they weren’t consumed nearly as much in the beginning.

nathan As a result of not having to worry about war, disease, or poverty, the //Rapanui// exploited the island’s resources efficiently and created a high-level functioning socio-political system. The Islanders created a functioning aristocratic society (Fischer, 21) with three main ranks or classes: ‘//urumanu’//, a commoner, ‘//tuhunga’//, an expert in a certain skill or trade (fishing, canoeing, etc.), and ‘//ariki’//, the nobles (Fischer, 21). The ‘//ariki//’ were the aristocrats of the 11 or 12 tribes on the island, which was typical to Polynesian politics (Diamond, 94); however, unlike the other islands, Easter Island had an ‘//ariki mau//’ or ‘paramount chief’, who would serve to consolidate the tribes religiously, economically, and politically (Diamond, 94). With the ‘//ariki mau//’ keeping peace, the tribes competed by creating statues called //Moai//, which increased in size over time, suggesting friendly competition (Diamond 94). The //Moai// are 15-20 feet tall, and weigh up to 270 tons. They are carved out of volcanic tuff found in the //__Rano Raraku__//, volcanic crater which is 600 yards in diameter. Many parallels can now be drawn to the United States and Canada, with the three main socio-economic classes (low, middle, upper), the subdivisions of the political system (states, provinces), all integrated economically and politically by one main leader, the president. Both the United States and Easter Island at their relative peaks seem unstoppable; nevertheless, Easter Island suffered one of the most striking examples of the consequences of an unsustainable society.

nathan Despite being able to coordinate an estimated increase of 25% food production over 300 peak years to create the //Moai// (Diamond, 102), the //Rapanui// still didn’t, or couldn’t, prepare for, or even predict, the eventual end to their resources. They continued to use an unsustainable amount of wood up until the last tree was cut. After that point everything fell apart. Erosion destroyed agricultural land, no more canoes could be produced, and therefore offshore fishing was impossible. The high ranking priests, ‘//tuhunga//’ and ‘//ariki//’ who promised high agricultural yields could no longer keep their word, and were overthrown. The military leaders, or ‘//matatoa//’ overthrew the political system, and the tribes broke out into civil war (Diamond, 109). Within the next century all the //Moai//, the product of roughly six centuries, were toppled by rival tribes (Gray).

nathan When Polynesian settlers arrived at was to become Easter Island, they arrived at a lush jungle paradise abundant resources. It took them a millennium to reach the pinnacle of high functioning peaceful society, and subsequently collapse. Despite the vast abundance of resources, solid political system, and a five hundred year golden age, they still couldn’t figure out a way to live in a sustainable fashion. This scenario is not unlike that of the current “Western” world. Our oil reserves are quickly dwindling, and like wood for the //Rapanui//, with our current infrastructure, we need it to survive. If we do not learn from their mistakes and figure out a way to use our resources wisely we will meet the same demise, if not worse.

 Works Cited Back Wright, Ronald. __Short history of progress__. Toronto: House of Anansi P, 2004. Fischer, Steven Roger. __Island at the End of the World The Turbulent History of Easter Island__. New York: Reaktion Books, 2005. Diamond, Jared M. __Collapse how societies choose to fail or succeed__. New York: Viking, 2005. Brookman, David Y. "Easter Island Home Page." PAETEC. 4 May 2009 . Gray, Martin. "Easter Island." __Sacred Sites: Places of Peace and Power__. 03 May 2009 .