Collapse - Chapter 2

The discussion of the inhabitants of Easter Island is a return to form for Diamond. The measured tone of GGS returns as the author discusses the iconic Easter Island statues that the society left behind. The sheer scale of these monuments (as well as the disparate required resources) suggests creation by a complex society, but how did the island support such a civilization when the first explorers remarked on its barren vegetation?

Diamond's penchant for geographical determinism peaks in again as he notes that although the weather and volcanic soil would have been ideal for crops, its lateral difference from neighboring islands would have made import of non-native species difficult. Its relative isolation serves as a great case study on how a society will interact with its environment in isolation (as opposed to the previous Montana discussion). The history of Easter Island colonization concludes with a lengthy discussion on how settlers arrived and their origin. Basically, they likely come from other Pacific Islands in a stepping-stone fashion around 900 AD.

The inhabitants were radially divided around in island in chiefdoms. Only one had access to the type of stone used in the sculptures, so there was likely at least minimal cooperation between them (however, the escalating size of the monuments suggests an arms race between the clans). It appears that woody forests once existed on Easter Island and the inhabitants diet consisted of many bird and fish species. By the archeological evidence, both seemed to have run out at some point. There is a brief aside about intensive farming, specifically aided by rocks to shield from winds. I'm unsure if the use of rocks was needed because the trees that would normally reduce wind were lost; Diamond was a little unclear about this.

Diamond suggests that the evidence of deforestation led to the collapse of society on Easter Island. Woody vegatation was used for cremation ceremonys and canoes for hunting fish/birds; they were also cleared to make area for plantations and used to haul the stones needed for the monuments (ahu and moai). Evidence suggests that the inhabitants experienced a population crash and cannibalism after deforestation. Its likely that several aspects of the island (factors which affect rainfall and soil nutrition) made it suspectible to deforestation.

Returning to Diamond's hypothesis, two themes played a large role in the collapse of civilization on Easter Island. Humans' affect on the delicate Easter Island environment lead to deforestation. This impact is driven by social, politcal and religious factors that were inherit to society: the mild terrain meant ease of communication between competing tribes, the relative isolation meant that competition was confined to the island and the arms race of monument building accelerated tree consumption. As Diamond mentions, its a haunting metaphor to the entire human race in that we too are only confined to one area, with no means to branch out.