Weston C. Hargis
Dr. Brad Barry
English 2010
30 November 2016
The Collapse of Easter Island
Every year, hundreds of tourist travel across the Pacific Ocean to visit a small, barren grass island. They do not travel to see grass they travel such a far distance to get a closer look at the giant stone-heads, call moai. These mysterious moai made by the ancient Rapanuian people hold a similar fascination like the Stone Hinge in England. They beg the questions when, how, why, and who? History teaches us through Easter Island that respecting our environment can help with the longevity of or society. Easter Island is a great example of how our impact on the surrounding environment can cause war, famine, climate change and eventually our end.
Easter Island is located in the South Pacific Ocean, 3,600 miles off the coast of Chile and 1,300 miles from the Pitcairn Island. According to Jared Diamond’s book Collapse, Easter is one of the most remote islands in the world. (Diamond) Dr. Diamond is one …show more content…
Warren Beck with the help of his colleagues had to carbon date the coral that was used for the eyes of the moai to determine their age. The moai are estimated to have been constructed in1000-1600 A.D. (Diamond). Looking at the status you can tell that the different tribes were competing to see who could make the biggest moai. Also looking at he stones you can see their trial and error on what stone was the best for carving. The Rapanuian carvers started out using different types of volcanic stone until they found tuff. Tuff is a consolidated volcanic ash and the best place to find it on Easter was Ran Raraku. The tuff became the rock of choice for carvers. The tuff was hard but had an ash consistency, making it easier to carve the basalt. With tuff being easier to carve then basalt mass production exploded. They could make the moai quicker and bigger. The quick production of moai definitely led to the rival between the
Dr. Brad Barry
English 2010
30 November 2016
The Collapse of Easter Island
Every year, hundreds of tourist travel across the Pacific Ocean to visit a small, barren grass island. They do not travel to see grass they travel such a far distance to get a closer look at the giant stone-heads, call moai. These mysterious moai made by the ancient Rapanuian people hold a similar fascination like the Stone Hinge in England. They beg the questions when, how, why, and who? History teaches us through Easter Island that respecting our environment can help with the longevity of or society. Easter Island is a great example of how our impact on the surrounding environment can cause war, famine, climate change and eventually our end.
Easter Island is located in the South Pacific Ocean, 3,600 miles off the coast of Chile and 1,300 miles from the Pitcairn Island. According to Jared Diamond’s book Collapse, Easter is one of the most remote islands in the world. (Diamond) Dr. Diamond is one …show more content…
Warren Beck with the help of his colleagues had to carbon date the coral that was used for the eyes of the moai to determine their age. The moai are estimated to have been constructed in1000-1600 A.D. (Diamond). Looking at the status you can tell that the different tribes were competing to see who could make the biggest moai. Also looking at he stones you can see their trial and error on what stone was the best for carving. The Rapanuian carvers started out using different types of volcanic stone until they found tuff. Tuff is a consolidated volcanic ash and the best place to find it on Easter was Ran Raraku. The tuff became the rock of choice for carvers. The tuff was hard but had an ash consistency, making it easier to carve the basalt. With tuff being easier to carve then basalt mass production exploded. They could make the moai quicker and bigger. The quick production of moai definitely led to the rival between the