Study questions Rapa Nui disaster

A new study has challenged a popular theory about the first people who lived on Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, more than 1,000 years ago. For many years, scientists believed that the earliest islanders caused their own downfall by destroying their environment. New research, however, found that a small number of islanders led a sustainable, stable life. Rapa Nui, a territory of Chile, is in the Pacific Ocean, 2,200 miles from South America. One of Earth’s most isolated places, it is famous for its massive moai statues (see box at right). In the early 1700s, European explorers arrived and found about 3,000 islanders. The explorers doubted that such a small population could have built the statues or survived on the tiny island, which had a harsh landscape and…

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The Week Junior US (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 226

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