Jared Diamond, author of Twilight at Easter, specializes in ecology and geology. He recounts his own experiences at Easter Island and offers geological, ecological, and historical evidence to share the story of the famed statues of Easter Island. To him there were a lot of questions he had about this space, the first being: how did people get on this island if it is so far from the mainland? It’s a valid question, because when this island was first found by Europeans, there were no trees or strong water crafts in sight. The island looked near barren. How could people in the 1700s travel such distance if not by water? 

Map with location of Easter Island relative to South America.

Easter Island is located in the Southeast Pacific, about two thousand three hundred miles away from South America and about a thousand miles away from other islands. Some time between 600 and 800 AD, it was first settled by the Rupa Nui society. The island is geographically almost inaccessible without the proper equipment. The first settlers were said to be Polynesian. They created a thriving society and can be credited with Easter Island’s most famous statues, the very statues many people visit to this day. 

These statues have always been a source of inspiration and inspire several questions. For one, how could these statues exist when there is not a single tree on the island? They seem to have magically been erected. For these statues to exist and for them to be created at the time that they were, they needed a large population of people to make it happen. They needed natural resources and animals to feed these people. But it all seems to make no sense. The present-day island has no visible trees over ten feet tall, and nothing more than wild insects and some domestic chickens to feed the very small existing population. 

Moai statues on Easter Island were built close to sources of fresh water.

Archeologists were frustrated, wondering where did the statues come from? Where, when, how, and why? These statues, or moai, each weigh at least 13.8 tons. To have created these is an amazing feat, and it would have taken plenty of people and natural resources for the moai to be erected–this no one can deny. It required specialized and skilled people, who could carve amazing features onto volcanic rock. It would have taken extreme collaboration, trademarks of a thriving and highly populated society. How does these exist then when all evidence in sight suggests the island is devoid of the resources required to erect these statues? The answer is simple: the island once had the resources and was home to a thriving society. 

The story of Easter Island is an ecological cautionary tale. It shows us the consequences of resource exploitation and environmental mismanagement. The isolation of Easter Island played a pivotal role when exploring the nuances of its historical trajectory. Easter Island is approximately 63 square miles and has limited resources. Though surrounded by water, its freshwater resources are limited. The composition of the island posed challenges for sustaining a growing population from the start. Carbonized wood fragments and mud cores help piece together this interesting story. The island’s palm forests were crucial for the Rupa Nui peoples as they provided wood for shelter, tools, fire, food, their fishing, and farming. But as the demand increased with time, the palm forests started to rapidly decline. Unfortunately, this decline prompted and worsened a multitude of other environmental challenges for the community. Deforestation led to further soil erosion. While some soil erosion is natural, soil erosion due to deforestation and other human activities can permanently damage the soil and make it less fertile. Deforestation also led to a huge loss of biodiversity. Ultimately, Rupa Nui society suffered an immense decline in their available food resources. 

Twilight at Easter by Diamond highlights the struggles that came following these environmental challenges. Resource scarcity created social unrest and strained Rupa Nui society. This was exacerbated by the inability to leave the island. Diamond found that the “numbers of house sites in the coastal lowlands, where almost everybody lived, declined by 70% from peak values around 1400–1600 to the 1700s, suggesting a corresponding decline in numbers of people” (qtd Austin, 274). Without wood to construct boats or any means of transportation, the community was stuck on an island facing complete environmental collapse without a reliable source of food and limited freshwater. Things worsened and soon people experienced extreme starvation and then depopulation. All of its tree species became extinct. Without wood, people experienced extreme cold.

The survivors were and still are strong people. Rupa Nui culture has persisted and is full of complex and beautiful stories. The film Eating Up Easter shares more about Rupa Nui society and present day Easter Island. It also discusses the nuances of tourism. Rupa Nui society has historically been posed with a unique set of challenges due to its own spatial isolation, and to this day it continues to face a unique set of challenges. Unfortunately, Easter Island still has not and perhaps won’t ever fully recover to its original ecological state. The ecological story of this island is a poignant reminder of the deep interconnected relationship society shares with its environment. This story is a cautionary tale as it serves as a reminder of the definite importance that proper and responsible resource management is of utmost importance.

Mahani walking beside Enrique from a scene in 'Eating Up Easter.'

We currently face the greatest ecological crisis, a product of overconsumption and exploitation. We have a changing climate and feel differently all around the world. We are watching our plants and animals become extinct at a terrifying and unprecedented rate. We are deforesting our precious trees. This is not to instill fear, rather we must reframe our society so that it can be sustainable. We must learn from history and its great survivors to remember that sustainable living should be prioritized. There are plenty of new sustainable frameworks that suggest there are different ways of doing things. Vandana Shiva’s Earth Democracy is a wonderful place to start; she breaks down how we can change amid the climate crisis. 

 

Sources: 

Diamond Jared, from Twilight at Easter in Reading The World, Ideas That Matter, Edition 4. Michael Austin. New York, W. W. Norton & Company, 2020. 263-276.

Shiva Vandana, from Soil, Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis in Reading The World, Ideas That Matter, Edition 4. Michael Austin. New York, W. W. Norton & Company, 2020. 279-284.