Summer students collected data to reject the thought of settlers destroying Easter Island and causing destruction within their own environment. Based on previous research, the island was colonized by settlers around 1200 AD, which was 400 years later than previous assumptions (Guo 2007). However, this is ruled out because it would make it hard for humans to destroy vegetation so quickly. Ancient rat DNA suggests that their population increased dramatically after the first settlers disappeared. The hundreds of rat bones and rat-gnawed palm seeds found deep in the sands along the beach support the theory. The seedling was needed to replenish the mature stock but the rat population devoured the palm seeds causing the palm forest to decline. This helps determine that the rat population increased more than the human population (Guo …show more content…
In relation to the story, previous visitors suggested that early settlers deforested the island. Greer finds a fossilized nut, which she believes could have been used in transporting the moai and fuels her ideas of deforestation caused by humans on the island. She found two species of palm trees that would have been a major source of food, shelter, and transportation for islanders. She implies that the decrease in population was caused by deforestation. The decrease in palm trees led to starvation due to the decrease in boat supplies used for fishing. Based on the fossilized nut found in Vanderbes (2004) novel, she concludes that humans may have caused habitat destruction, while Guo (2007) provides evidence of rat fossils to disapprove this