Påskön. Myten om Rapa Nui

Abstract

This essay will examine the historical picture of the island Rapa Nui as it is portrayed in popular science and in ecohistorical literature of the university of Gothenburg. This historical picture states that the inhabitants of the island cut down a lot of trees in the process of transporting the big and heavy statues, moai, from the quarry to the platforms along the coastline of the island. During this process all trees disappeared and resulted in soil erosion. The cultivation was destroyed and brought hunger to Rapa Nui. The following rivalry for food led to a situation of war followed by a cultural collapse. People fell into cannibalism and barbarism. My hypothesis is that this picture, which I call the Easter Island myth, cannot be verified when confronted with scientific analysis. First I examine the statements of facts in this Easter Island myth. What does the myth say about the situation on Rapa Nui when the first European ”discovered” the island, and what did Roggeveen write in his log from this visit in the year of 1722. Here I find a big difference, and even a contradiction, between Roggeveens log and the myth. Next I investigate if the story about the deforestation is in agreement with the research from archaeology and paleontology of Rapa Nui. Even here I find the mythpicture being far from up to date. The implication of these investigations is that the deforestation is a cause from climate change and human firecultivation. Along with this examination of facts I look to the history of the Easter Island Myth and find the story growing from European tradition in a complex situation of political and economical forces during the eighteenth century. Due to slave trade and epidemic disease in the nineteenth century all historical knowledge has vanished. When missionaries and early ethnologists wrote down the legends in the end of the nineteenth century one hundred years of death and violence had reined the island. How much of an impact the one hundred years of decay has had on these legends requires further investigation. In the end, the conclusion of this essay and examination is that the historical picture I call the Easter Island myth cannot survive a scientific analysis. This picture must be looked upon as a myth.