A recently-published study challenges the popular myth that Easter Islanders’ ancient rock gardening practices caused their own downfall.
The journal article, which is titled “Island-wide characterization of agricultural production challenges the demographic collapse hypothesis for Rapa Nui,” was published in Science Advances on Friday. The study explains that Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, “is often used as an example of how overexploitation of limited resources resulted in a catastrophic population collapse.”
Hundreds of years ago, farmers on the island – located in the South Pacific – practiced “slash and burn” agriculture by tearing down palm trees and setting them on fire. Farmers would then practice rock gardening to help enrich their soil.
According to a popular myth, islanders were so focused on their rock farming – and erecting hundreds of gigantic stone statues – that their civilization collapsed. When Europeans discovered Easter Island in 1722, the island’s population was allegedly smaller than it once was.