What Cracked Easter Island

What Cracked Easter Island

The fall of civilizations due to human greediness is no doubt an occurring theme throughout history. Easter Island is an excellent example of this aphorism. Easter Island is said to of once been covered in “rich volcanic soil supporting thick woods” (Wright 121), but approaching the end of the Island’s reign the luscious resources are described as being “utterly destroyed” (Wright 121). “Fools’ Paradise,” an argumentative essay written by Ronald Wright, explains his viewpoint on Easter Island’s downfall, and his agreement with the age old truth that civilizations become “victim to their own success” (Wright 119). This historical truism is agreed upon by many people and supports the speculation that the inhabitants of Easter Island suffered their cruel fate due to self-destruction, a theme that we can still see today.
The history of Easter Island lacks much detail, but one thing is for certain, the Island began being described as having a vast amount of natural resources and in the end was nothing but “barren hills” (Wright 120). Easter Island is referred to as “Rapa Nui” (Wright 121) by Polynesians and was settled around fifth century A.D. Between 500 and 600 A.D. the population stood at about 10,000 people, which was a notable amount considering the Island was only 64 square miles. Eventually, these people split into respective ranks and began honoring their personal history by constructing impressive stone monuments. Of course the creation of these massive monuments required a hefty amount of natural resources. Eventually a rivalry broke out among the clans in regards to who could make the most impressive statue, because of this the statues became bigger and consequently used an increasing amount of resources. Essentially resources were being used up faster than they could be reformed. By the year 1400 “the woods had been utterly destroyed by both the largest and the smallest mammal on the island” (Wright 121). It came to the point...