What happened to the large population that built the moai?

According to Easter Island: The Truth Revealed, approximately 1,500 to 2,000 people – half the population – were taken in 1862 in a raid by slave traders from Peru to work there, predominately in agriculture. They brought disease with them and much of the remaining population was decimated.

Why did the Islanders stop producing giant moai statues?

Cristián Moreno Pakarati, who also trains tour guides on the island, explained that locals stopped making moai during a time of high deforestation. Without trees, islanders had to build specialized rock gardens, which kept the soil humid. Hundreds of years of sun, wind, and rain have battered the moai.

What happened to the inhabitants of Easter Island and their resources?

Easter Island was once home to lush palm forests. Over time, however, the humans who settled there depleted the island’s resources, leading to wars among clans that doomed the population. Competition among clans led to ever bigger moai and, ultimately, to the destruction of the forest.

How many moai are left?

Archaeologists have documented 887 of the massive statues, known as moai, but there may up as many as 1,000 of them on the island.

What caused the destruction of Easter Island?

Such devastating events that contributed to the downfall and collapse of the Easter Island society can be attributed to the rapid deforestation during the time of moai-construction.

Why are the moai statues important?

Moai statues were built to honor chieftain or other important people who had passed away. They were placed on rectangular stone platforms called ahu, which are tombs for the people that the statues represented.

Why were the people clearing the forests in Easter Island?

Regarding the causes, humans were not the only factors responsible for forest clearing, as climatic droughts as well as climate–human–landscape feedbacks and synergies also played a role.

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