The survival of Easter Island : dwindling resources and cultural resilience /

The survival of Easter Island : dwindling resources and cultural resilience /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Boersema, J. J., 1947- author.
Uniform title:	Beelden van Paaseiland. English
Edition:	English edition.
Imprint:	New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Description:	xvi, 296 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Language:	English
Subject:	Prehistoric peoples -- Easter Island. Sculpture, Prehistoric -- Easter Island. Polynesians -- Easter Island -- Antiquities. Civilization. Polynesians -- Antiquities. Prehistoric peoples. Sculpture, Prehistoric. Easter Island -- Civilization. Easter Island.
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/10241638

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9781107027701 1107027705
Notes:	Translation of: Beelden van Paaseiland : over de duurzaamheid van een cultuur. 2011. Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-286) and index.
Summary:	"In this book, Jan J. Boersema reconstructs the ecological and cultural history of Easter Island and critiques the hitherto accepted theory of the collapse of its civilization. The collapse theory, advanced most recently by Jared Diamond and Clive Ponting, is based on the documented overexploitation of natural resources, particularly woodlands, on which Easter Island culture depended. Deforestation is said to have led to erosion, followed by hunger, conflict, and economic and cultural collapse. Drawing on scientific data and historical sources, including the shipping journals of the Dutch merchant who was the first European to visit the island in 1722, Boersema shows that deforestation did not in fact jeopardize food production and lead to starvation and violence. On the basis of historical and scientific evidence, Boersema demonstrates how Easter Island society responded to cultural and environmental change as it evolved and managed to survive"--

Table of Contents:

1. Easter Island as an icon
2. From the east or the west?
3. The green past
4. Culture appears, nature disappears
5. Makemake, moai, and the tangata manu
6. Resilience and sustainability
7. Foreigners
8. Christianization, sheep breeding and research
9. The earth and Easter Island : doom and destiny.