Easter Island and The Collapse of a Society

Jan Boersema has argued that even one of the icons of environmental catastrophe, the “collapse” of civilization on Easter Island, was probably not nearly so abrupt or catastrophic as many assume. It is true that the island was gradually deforested, but the changes occurred slowly. The result was not a sudden collapse, but rather a slow decline in the wealth, variety of food and cultural richness of the society—a decrease in the quality of life.

This created a gradual sociocultural transition, of which the inhabitants themselves may not even have been particularly aware while they were…