27 Mar 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.