What happened to the residents of Easter Island?

The island was victimized by blackbirding from 1862 to 1863, resulting in the abduction or killing of about 1,500, with 1,408 working as indentured servants in Peru. Only about a dozen eventually returned to Easter Island, but they brought smallpox, which decimated the remaining population of 1,500.

How did deforestation affect Easter Island?

With the loss of their forest, the quality of life for Islanders plummeted. Streams and drinking water supplies dried up. Crop yields declined as wind, rain, and sunlight eroded topsoils. Fires became a luxury since no wood could be found on the island, and grasses had to be used for fuel.

What were trees used for on Easter Island?

It was used by Easter Island’s early colonisers for many purposes, e.g. statuettes (moai kava kava), oars and even canoes. The islanders contributed greatly themselves in this way to their favourite tree’s extinction. When the island was “discovered” by Europeans on Easter Day 1722, the tree was quite rare.

Why were trees important to the inhabitants of Easter Island?

Scientists have proven that the island was covered by forests until the 17th century. It’s believed the trees were cut down by the ancestors of today’s Easter Islanders in order to transport the giant stone statues – the Moai – as well as to build canoes, houses and fires to burn the dead.

Why is Easter Island so important?

Easter Island is famous for its stone statues of human figures, known as moai (meaning “statue”). The island is known to its inhabitants as Rapa Nui. The moai were probably carved to commemorate important ancestors and were made from around 1000 C.E. until the second half of the seventeenth century.

Who lives in Easter Island?

The Rapa Nui are the indigenous Polynesian people of Easter Island. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the descendants of the original people of Easter Island make up about 60\% of the current Easter Island population and have a significant portion of their population residing in mainland Chile.

What happened to the forests of Easter Island quizlet?

The collapse of Easter Island’s environment led to a collapse of its society. When early Polynesians arrived on Easter Island, they found a remote island with limited resources in the form of large palm tree forests. The islanders cut down trees to transport the moai.

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