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Re: population, the article mentioned that we don't know what the population was, but a good guess is between 4,000 and 9,000. The 15,000 number mentioned isn't
by justinator 9y ago
Re: population, the article mentioned that we don't know what the population was, but a good guess is between 4,000 and 9,000. The 15,000 number mentioned isn't a guess at population, it's a theory on how many people could be sustained with the farming practices used.
So if there was a drop in population it may not have been as big of a drop as 15,000 to 3,000.
- bandrami 9y agoPaul Bahn (he's a rock art specialist; his is the only book[1] I've read on it other than Diamond) estimated the population at 10K pre-contact, though he also theorizes there was an earlier Spanish contact than the recorded one which prompted a collapse of their belief system and tipped an already fragile society over. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Enigmas-Easter-Island-Paul-Bahn/dp/0192803409 https://www.amazon.com/Enigmas-Easter-Island-Paul-Bahn/dp/01... -- cool book. The title is tongue in cheek; he mostly is annoyed by people who don't simply apply standard archaeology and anthropology to the island and look for more complex theories than necessary.