Easter Island: The Collapse

Moai, or stone statues, The moai were believed to be the living faces of ancestors

AMAZON

Terry Hunt & Carl Lipo finally resolved the Eco-cide that brought about the demise of Easter Island.  After years of painstaking field research the resolution isn't apocalyptic as other authors have sought.  Previous historians, geologists, and adventurers have tried to uncover the madness of how the inhabitants of this Island collapsed.  Both Hunt & Lipo have brought extravagant mythology to an end; the Island didn't fall from civil war, but the inadvertant introduction of European germs was a factor.  Human excess isn't a culprit either, the forests that collapsed introducing climate, soil erosion had its origin in the introduction of Polynesian rats that ate the seen saplings of indigenous plants, introducing ecocide.  It only took decades, not centuries, but once started it was quick and lethal.  

"The Statues that Walked" is now out from Free Press and it is great reading.  Both archeologists have served their discipline well in finally putting to rest the demise of Easter Island. 

http://books.simonandschuster.com/The-Statues-that-Walked/Terry-Hunt/9781439150313?
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Easter Island Statue Project:  
Explore Easter Island Digitally
Easter Island History
Rapa- Nui People of Easter Island