- Jared Diamond
This
essay is written by Jared Diamond. He is a professor of geography and
physiology at the University of California, USA. In this essay, the writer
explores the reasons for the destruction of civilization in Easter Island. The
end of Easter Island is an example of how we can destroy a prosperous
civilization if we can’t adopt the natural resources properly.
Easter
Island lies in the Pacific Ocean 2000 miles west of the nearest continent,
South America. It covers 64 square miles of land. The name of the island comes
after its discovery by Dutch explorer Jacob Rogeveen on Easter in April 5,
1722. When Rogeveen saw the land, he only noticed grassland, ferns and shrubs.
There were no trees higher than 10 feet. The larger animal found was only the
insects; and the chickens were the only domestic animals the islanders had. The
mysteries of the Easter Island were the heavy statues stood lining the coast.
The island was prosperous and the civilization was in full bloom many years
back. But, the destruction of the civilization has raised a lot of unsolved
mystery.
Diamond
describes the theories which explore the reasons for the destruction of the
civilization in the island. The analysis of the sediments taken from depths in
swamp proved that there were diverse plants and animals in the past. Pollen and
DNA analysis of the animals gave the ideas about how many species of animals
existed in the animals. But the islanders were unaware of the damages they were
creating till they destroyed the last tree and the last edible creature
remaining in the whole island. The islanders cut down the trees to make canoes
for hunting porpoise in the ocean, to build houses and to bring the giant
stones statues on the shore. Trees were cut down for firewood, and the fibers
were used to make ropes for lifting up the heavy statues. The islanders also finished
the available animals in the island. The process was so slow that they didn’t
notice till they were cutting down the last Palm tree available in the land. They
had over-exploited the natural resources in such a way that they could no
longer get any food to survive. Then their eyes turned to the largest remaining
sources of food- humans. Thus, the civilization of a fertile and prosperous island
came to an end.
No comments:
Post a Comment