The Polynesian pig did not survive in the colder climate so the island relied heavily on fishing. Polynesians landed there, farmed, thrived, built their famous statues, and then things went very bad, very fast. Sixteen million trees vanished. Whatever happened on Easter Island, it wasn't good. Previous genetic commensal research using the Pacific rat, Rattus exulans; a species transported by humans across Remote Oceania and throughout the Polynesian Triangle, has identified broad interaction … The location of the immediate eastern Polynesian origin for the settlement of Easter Island (Rapa Nui), remains unclear with conflicting archeological and linguistic evidence. The earliest Polynesian colonisers brought with them another culprit, namely the Polynesian rat. In 1995, UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site, with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park. On Easter Island, the Polynesian word rakau ("tree," "wood," "timber") meant "riches" or "wealth."

Easter Island flora doesn’t have a great variety, unlike the other Polynesian islands. The island stands in isolation 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometres) east of Pitcairn Island and 2,200 miles west of Chile. Easter Island is the most isolated piece of inhabited land in the world. It seems that the Polynesian rat population grew quickly, then fell more recently before becoming extinct in the face of competition from rat species introduced by Europeans.

When the Polynesians first arrived the island had lots of forests. The introduced Polynesian rat ate the seeds of the Easter island palm tree causing it to become extinct. New research reveals that they formed an important part of the diet for the inhabitants of Easter Island. This is not surprising, for the Rapanui used trees and their products for almost everything. Secrets Of Easter Island - Documentary Easter Island is a Chilean island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle. However, botanical and archaeological studies indicate that the vegetation wasn’t always like this. Today, the Easter Islanders call themselves and their homeland Rapa Nui. Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island (a name given to it by Europeans), is located in the southeast Pacific and is famous for its approximately 1,000 carvings of moai, human-faced statues. 8 The Rats Did It . The Polynesian pig did not survive in the colder climate so the island relied heavily on fishing. Easter Island is … The name Easter Island originated with the European explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who first saw the island on Easter Sunday, 1722. Though the natives cut and burned trees, it was the rats that prevented regrowth by feasting on the new plants. Cliff, CC … Lipo and Hunt offer an alternative explanation for the population drop.

Easter Island is most famous for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapa Nui people.

Consider an alternative story—one where invasive rats, specifically polynesian rats (Rattus exulans), overtook Easter Island, consuming the once bountiful palm roots and everything in sight, leaving in their wake a barren landscape. When the Polynesians first arrived the island had lots of forests. The Polynesian rat (also known as kiore) is somewhat smaller than its Europeans counterparts and, according to ethnographic accounts, was tasty to eat. The inhabitants of Easter Island consumed a diet that was lacking in seafood and was, literally, quite ratty. It is famous for its giant stone statues.

... and paper mulberry, as well as chickens and Polynesian rats. New Research Rewrites the Demise of Easter Island ... By the time Dutch explorers arrived on Easter Island in 1722, this early society had long since collapsed. Rats, not men, to blame for death of Easter Island ... the rat population of Easter Island could have exceeded 3.1 million," says the report. It is the easternmost outpost of the Polynesian island world. The lack of predators and an overflow of food on the island have provided a paradise for rats hiding in the canoes of the island’s earliest settlers.