The island is well known for the large stone statues, and the “mystery” of the people who built and moved them.
Diamond – Twilight at Easter
History of Easter Island – Wikipedia
Summary: The island is well known for the large stone statues, and the “mystery” of the people who built and
moved them. Diamond gives a nice description of the island, describing its geographic isolation and the
cool, windy, and wet climate. He also discusses the domesticated plants and animals that were brought in
by the Polynesians to the island, and how these plants and animals performed in the island environment.
The bulk of the chapter deals with the interplay of the Polynesian social organization (social hierarchy,
in particular), subsistence pattern, the resulting environmental impact, and how this impact in turn
influenced their cultural system. It also appears that making and moving the stone statues had a major
environmental and social impact. Archaeological analyses indicate that, initially, the island was heavily
forested with diversified fauna. Then, drastic bouts of deforestation occurred, and Diamond describes
the implications of deforestation on their lifeways. Overall, the final hypothesis ( as you have previously read) is that the environmental impact was so severe that their society ultimately collapsed.
Diamond – The Ancient Ones: The Anasazi and their Neighbors
Major Anasazi Regions and Sites – Manitou Cliff Dwellings
Summary:
The Anasazi are the ancestors of the modern Pueblo people. The contemporary Pueblos actually prefer
to call their ancestors “Ancient Pueblos” rather than the Anasazi. Archaeological records indicate that
they migrated from Central Mexico to the Four Corners area approximately 100 A.D.
They were agriculturalists, and practiced 3 types of agriculture:
1. Dryland farming: they relied on seasonal rainfall at the high elevations to grow their crops.
• Evident in Mesa Verde
• They also used the natural contours of the land to maximize the water use. They grew the
plants that require more water in the depressed areas, and plant those with longer roots
and those that do not require as much water in higher areas.
2. Farming in canyon bottoms: crop roots can reach the water more effectively
• Evident in Chaco Canyon
• At the bottom of a canyon, they are physically closer to the water needed for farming
3. Irrigation farming: collecting water runoffs in the ditches and canals
• Evident in Hohokam tradition
Diamond again provides a lot of archaeological data to reconstruct the Anasazi lifeway. He discusses the
environmental advantages and disadvantages to farming in the Four Corners region, the reasons for
cutting down the trees, decline in the soil quality over time, and the impact of deforestation on their
society. He also discusses how plenty of water at some point in their history led to an increase in
farming, which in turn led to an increase in population size. Then, the consequence of drought that
followed during the later years is discussed. Diamond, along with archaeologists, believes that this type
of interaction between people and their environment led to the collapse of their society. The Anasazi are
not extinct. They dispersed to various areas in the Southwestern part of the country and became
incorporated into other groups.
Please address the following questions:
1. What are 2 cultural practices/features that the Easter Islanders and Anasazi shared which
contributed to their societal collapse? Explain.
2. Please provide and discuss 2 examples from our own society that parallels the events that led to
the collapse of the above societies. What do you predict would happen if our current
environmental and behavioral patterns were to continue?
3. Let’s go back to the concept of the “Tragedy of the Commons” from module one.
Are the Anasazi and Easter Island strong examples of “overexploiting the commons”? Explain.
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