Easter Island documentary

The classic episode of the documentary "In search of" hosted by L. Nimoy studies all the big historical notions of Easter Island. The local population deforested, overfished, and drastically degraded the ecology of the island due to class warfare between zealous leaders of two tribes. The iconic stone statues remain as a reminder to the dangers of exploitation.

Easter Island deforestation

It seems hard to imagine that once upon a time the Easter Island was actually covered with trees, wildlife flourished and the inhabitants lived in harmony with nature. Today the giant stone heads are all that is left of the native society and a shocking reminder about the consequences of deforestation. The climate in ancient times included rich forests with the tall Easter Island Palm. This large palm was used for building homes, canoes and in the construction of statues. Around 1400 overharvesting the palm and other trees made the island vegetation scarce. In result there was significantly less rainfall and vital natural resource for construction was permanently lost. Rats ate the palm seeds and added to the problem considerably. Read more on how the ancient civilization destroyed itself...