Environmental Collapse and Cultural Legacy

A Comparative Analysis of Easter Island in the Works of Flenley, Bahn, and Diamond

In the book, The Enigmas of Easter Island, John Flenley and Paul Bahn examine the historical background, culture, lifestyle, and reasons for the eventual collapse of the inhabitants of Easter Island. Their use of recent scientific and archaeological advancements since 1996 has revolutionized the traditional beliefs about Easter Island, although facing controversy from their colleagues. Their work is very similar to the chapter “Twilight at Easter” in Jared Diamond’s book Collapse, and provides a similar tenet: “Given the decline of the island’s culture, we should consider the parallels between the behaviour of the Easter Islanders in relation to their limited resources and our cavalier disregard for our own fragile natural environment: The Earth itself.”

Science plays a large role in analyzing the island and its history in Flenley and Bahn’s work. The first eight chapters discuss such topics as the European discovery, where and how the inhabitants got to the island, and their Moai statue culture. Each of these sections contain smaller sub-theses, such as using pollen tests to show that Easter Island once contained forests dependent on one type of tree and DNA tests to prove that the indigenous people of Easter Island migrated from eastern Polynesia. However, the authors clearly note in the prologue and conclusion that while they bring up many smaller ideas, their main thesis is that the collapse of Easter Island was a direct result of environmental degradation, drawing a parallel between this ancient society and the Earth as a whole today. Their thesis can be further explained as an unending cycle of civilization decay. At first, the inhabitants held adequate resources to sustain their simple existence. The island had low rainfall, a dry climate, limited species of flora and fauna, and infertile soil compared to other areas of Polynesia. Although they once had a sizable forest and a number of useful floral species, regrowth took generations, which is difficult to achieve on such a small island. Once the islanders turned much of their energy into the construction of the Moai, the food-producing community had to support a larger number of non-food producers. Deforestation and over-gathering of vegetation did not allow the environment sufficient time for regrowth.

An unending cycle of soil erosion, reduced crop yields, and wind damage led to the draining of streams and fresh water supplies due to increased soil evaporation. Flenley and Bahn argue that the significance of their thesis is that the isolation of Easter Island symbolizes Earth as a whole, as communication and transportation create a global economy. Just like in Easter Island, should the abundant areas fail to produce enough to sustain the non-producing areas, there will be nowhere to turn to acquire these essential supplies. The islanders’ creation of Moai statues symbolizes the industrialized world’s extravagance and push for industrialization while ignoring necessities such as food crops and biodiversity.

However, it is difficult to connect this small civilization to the downfall of the entire world. Easter Island is a very narrow example, and while the world undoubtedly has its own problems and faces the possibility of a collapse due to environmental factors, Easter Island does not provide a comparable example to the collapse of Earth as a whole. The thesis is well-supported with scientific studies, but the issue is still open to interpretation. The authors mention in the Preface to the 2nd edition that several of their colleagues disagree with their assertion that the destruction of Easter Island’s ample forests and biodiversity led to the downfall of its society. Though the authors use new scientific techniques to prove their point, they reference La Perouse and William Mulloy, who, as first-hand witnesses in pre-collapse Easter Island, came to similar conclusions without the same scientific advantages. However, there are many factors that could have contributed to the downfall, and without more evidence, the authors are narrowly interpreting scientific data.

For instance, Van Tilburg raised the possibility that the island’s isolation led to cultural destruction rather than environmental degradation, a claim that pollen samples would not necessarily refute. The authors also address other possible points such as climatic changes like El Niño, European disruption of activities, a mini ice age, and unrestrained population growth. Though each of these points has merit, without more cultural evidence, it is difficult to establish whether they were causal factors in an unrelenting chain of events or whether they played significant roles in the downfall. Flenley and Bahn base a majority of their argument on the dating of the Rano Kau pollen, and although the experiment is relatively accurate, it does not distinguish between the role the islanders themselves played in the deforestation and other factors such as climate changes. Their thesis may be true, but science only goes so far in explaining the downfall of a society. Cultural factors are a necessary ingredient in understanding a people, and without that, there is a degree of uncertainty in making broad generalizations.

Jared Diamond and the authors of The Enigmas of Easter Island hold almost identical views about Easter Island. The first edition of the latter book was published a decade before Diamond’s work Collapse, and he references many of the same or similar studies. All of the authors have similar backgrounds, none of which are in history. Bahn is an archaeologist by trade and did not begin studying Easter Island until 1985. On the other hand, Flenley was the most important person conducting pollen analysis studies, and most of his work involved the study of rainforests and biodiversity. Together, they provide unique perspectives in addressing both sides of the Easter Island debate and are able to combine their strengths. Diamond comes from a very similar biological background as Flenley, and through his writing, it is obvious that he is very inclined to use scientific tools in his analysis. He relies heavily on Flenley’s pollen work, as well as many other scientific researchers. Their similarity in writing styles most likely stems from non-historical backgrounds trying to examine a historical event. Diamond has an almost identical thesis to Flenley and Bahn. Both assert that the Easter Islanders overreached in exploiting their environment, due mainly to the large stone-carving population, which led to massive deforestation. Combined with a delicate environment to begin with, the islanders destroyed the environment which had previously allowed them to survive. Both books relate this thesis to modern times, paralleling Easter Island with today’s contemporary society. The commonalities between the two books are uncanny, with Diamond’s account resembling a shortened version of The Enigmas of Easter Island.

One major difference between the two is that Diamond is much more direct in his thesis. He states unequivocally that the islanders themselves destroyed their environment, and while external factors such as infertile soil and a dry climate played a role, it was the islanders who created the situation which led to their own downfall. At most, he briefly discusses the other possible factors that Flenley and Bahn raise, such as dramatic climate change, a mini ice age, or European disruption of islander activities, that could have contributed to the downfall. However, Diamond is writing his book in a much broader sense, incorporating various civilizations and empires that collapsed within his five-pronged framework. Thus, it is possible that Diamond creates a much more focused and direct thesis to fit into his model, setting himself up for criticism and one-sidedness. While the obvious comparison is in the discussion of Easter Island, both authors, and Diamond at length, mention the role of Easter Island in comparison to the islands of Mangareva, Pitcairn, and Henderson. Flenley and Bahn attribute the fall of these islands to nothing more than an unreliable water supply and dismiss the Hunter-Anderson assertion that the cultural collapse and decline of trees resulted from droughts. On the other hand, Diamond’s thesis about Pitcairn and Henderson is much more in-depth and is similar to his thesis regarding Easter Island with the added emphasis on island interaction. The natives of these islands damaged their environment beyond repair and thus began a steady cycle of decay much like that of Easter Island. He also shows how the fall of exports in one area affects its partners and, in the case of these islands, brings them down with it. All of the factors they mention could have played a role in their destruction, but without cultural evidence, it is difficult to determine the overall importance associated with each one.

Because Flenley and Bahn dedicate an entire book to the topic of Easter Island and its ultimate collapse, they provide a much more adequate and thorough understanding of all the possible factors involved. On the other hand, Diamond writes an abbreviated and more direct thesis in discussing the role the islanders had in environmental decay. Though both theses are very similar, Flenley’s and Bahn’s ability to expand the topic allows for a much more thorough analysis and develops more interest, as opposed to the brief and somewhat narrow account that Diamond gives.