After more than three decades of paleoecological research, the potential role of climatic and anthropogenic drivers on Easter Island's ecological and cultural change is still under discussion. This eBook aims to provide a synthetic view of the topic using evidence from different research fields such as paleoecology, archaeology, history and molecular phylogenetics. A holistic approach is provided to combine the results of these research fields into a comprehensive framework able to account for most of the available multidisciplinary evidence. This eBook is dedicated to the memory of John R. Flenley, the pioneer of paleoecological study of Easter Island, who passed away on June 22, 2018.
Paleocological Research on Easter Island: Insights on Settlement, Climate Changes, Deforestation and Cultural Shifts examines the area's climatic and ecological history, a topic not usually addressed in other literature. The book provides a thorough and synthetic account of all paleoecological works developed to date, including the latest discoveries. Finally, it attempts to match paleoecological evidence with the results of other disciplines creating a multidisciplinary framework. This approach to the field is ideal for researchers, university professors and graduate students in a varied range of disciplines and subdisciplines, including ecology, paleoecology, paleoclimatology, biogeography, sedimentology, and paleontology. Users will find synthesized information on Easter Island from the last millennia that will help pave the way towards an integrated interdisciplinary vision of the island's environmental-ecological-cultural system as a complex functional unit. Human and environmental deterministic views are avoided and the Easter Island enigmas are analyzed under a holistic perspective of continuous feedbacks and synergies among the different components of the system. - Provides the first synthesis of the available paleoecological knowledge on Easter Island - Furnishes clues on how to integrate paleoecological information with evidence from other disciplines - Addresses the complexity of the environmental-ecological-cultural system by analyzing the interactions (feedbacks and synergies) among its components
• Updated throughout with recent developments and additional illustrations • Reveals how solar outbursts caused the end of the last ice age, unleashed catastrophe upon ancient advanced civilizations, and led to six millennia of a Solar-Induced Dark Age • Includes evidence from solar science, geology, oceanic circulation patterns, the Sphinx, the underground cities of Cappadocia, the Easter Island rongorongo glyphs, and the Göbekli Tepe complex in Turkey In this newly revised and expanded edition, updated throughout with recent developments, geologist Robert Schoch builds upon his revolutionary theory that the origins of the Sphinx date back much further than 2500 BCE and examines scientific evidence of the catastrophe that destroyed early high culture nearly 12,000 years ago. Combining evidence from multiple scientific disciplines, Schoch makes the case that the abrupt end of the last ice age, circa 9700 BCE, was due to an agitated Sun. Solar outbursts unleashed electrical/plasma discharges upon Earth, triggering dramatic climate change as well as increased earthquake and volcanic activity, fires, high radiation levels, and massive floods. Schoch explains how these events impacted the civilizations of the time, set humanity back thousands of years, and led to six millennia of a Solar-Induced Dark Age (SIDA). Applying the SIDA framework to ancient history, he explores how many megalithic monuments, petroglyphs, indigenous traditions, and legends fall logically into place, including the underground cities of Cappadocia, the Easter Island rongorongo glyphs, and the Göbekli Tepe complex in Turkey. He also reveals that our Sun is a much more unstable star than previously believed, suggesting that history could repeat itself with a solar outburst powerful enough to devastate modern society. Weaving together a new view of the origins and antiquity of civilization and the dynamics of the planet we live on, Schoch maintains we must heed the megalithic warning of the past and collectively prepare for future events.
The diversity crisis in paleontology refers not to modern biota or the fossil record, but rather how our discipline lacks significant representation of individuals varying in race, ethnicity, and other aspects of identity. This Element is a call to action for broadening participation through improved classroom approaches as described in four sections. First, a brief review of the crisis and key concepts are presented. Next, culturally responsive pedagogy and related practices are introduced. Third, specific applications are offered for drawing cultural connections to studying the fossil record. Finally, recommendations including self-reflection are provided for fostering your own cultural competency. Our discipline offers much for understanding earth history and contributing new knowledge to a world impacted by humans. However, we must first more effectively welcome, support, and inspire all students to embrace meaning and value in paleontology; it is critical for securing the future of our field.
This book addresses the main enigmas of Easter Island’s (Rapa Nui, in the Polynesian language) prehistory from the time of initial settlement to European contact with a multidisciplinary perspective. The main topics include: (i) the time of first settlement and the origin of the first settlers; (ii) the main features of prehistoric Rapanui culture and their changes; (iii) the deforestation of the island and its timing and causes; (iv) the extinction of the indigenous biota, (v) the occurrence of climatic shifts and their potential effects on socioecological trends; (vi) the evidence for a cultural and demographic collapse before European contact; and (vii) the influence of Europeans on prehistoric Rapanui society. The book is subdivided into thematic sections and each chapter is written by renowned specialists in disciplines such as archaeology, anthropology, paleoecology, ethnography, linguistics, ethnobotany, phylogenetics/phylogeography and history. Contributors have been invited to provide an open and objective vision that includes as many views as possible on the topics considered. In this way, the readers may be able to compare different of points of view and make their own interpretations on each of the subjects considered. The book is intended for a wide audience including graduate students, advanced undergraduate students, university teachers and researchers interested in the subject. Given its multidisciplinary character and the topics included, the book is suitable for students and researchers from a wide range of disciplines and interests.
Island biogeography is the study of the distribution and dynamics of species in island environments. Due to their isolation from more widespread continental species, islands are ideal places for unique species to evolve, but they are also places of concentrated extinction. Consequently, theyare widely studied by ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and conservationists.This accessible textbook builds on the success and reputation of its predecessors, documenting the recent advances in this exciting field and explaining how islands have contributed to both theory development and testing. In addition, the book describes the main processes of island formation,subsequent dynamics, and eventual demise, explaining the relevance of island environmental history to island biogeography. The authors demonstrate the significance of islands as hotspots of biodiversity and of prehistoric and historic anthropogenic extinction. Since island species continue tofeature disproportionally in the lists of threatened species today, the book examines both the chief threats to their persistence and some of the mitigation measures that can be put in play, with conservation strategies specifically tailored to islands.
Quaternary Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeography offers an introduction to the study of the ecological and evolutionary processes that have shaped our present biosphere under the influence of glacial-interglacial cycles. Written by an ecologist with paleoecological expertise, this book reviews the climactic changes that have occurred during the last 2.6 million years, along with the responses of organisms and ecosystems. It offers an understanding of the evolutionary origin of extant biodiversity, its biogeographical patterns, and the composition of modern ecological communities. In addition, it explores human evolution and the influence of our activities on the biosphere, especially in the last millennia.This book offers the latest information on how studying the past can contribute to our understanding of present climate issues for a better future, and is an ideal resource for researchers and students in the natural sciences. - Includes the latest developments in genomics and their relevance within Quaternary evolution - Offers a holistic view of the origin of biodiversity patterns and community assembly - Discusses the role of climate on human evolution and the ecological consequences for natural systems
On a long stretch of green coast in the South Pacific, hundreds of enormous, impassive stone heads stand guard against the ravages of time, war, and disease that have attempted over the centuries to conquer Easter Island. Steven Roger Fischer offers the first English-language history of Easter Island in Island at the End of the World, a fascinating chronicle of adversity, triumph, and the enduring monumentality of the island's stone guards. A small canoe with Polynesians brought the first humans to Easter Island in 700 CE, and when boat travel in the South Pacific drastically decreased around 1500, the Easter Islanders were forced to adapt in order to survive their isolation. Adaptation, Fischer asserts, was a continuous thread in the life of Easter Island: the first European visitors, who viewed the awe-inspiring monolithic busts in 1722, set off hundreds of years of violent warfare, trade, and disease—from the smallpox, wars, and Great Death that decimated the island to the late nineteenth-century Catholic missionaries who tried to "save" it to a despotic Frenchman who declared sole claim of the island and was soon killed by the remaining 111 islanders. The rituals, leaders, and religions of the Easter Islanders evolved with all of these events, and Fischer is just as attentive to the island's cultural developments as he is to its foreign invasions. Bringing his history into the modern era, Fischer examines the colonization and annexation of Easter Island by Chile, including the Rapanui people's push for civil rights in 1964 and 1965, by which they gained full citizenship and freedom of movement on the island. As travel to and interest in the island rapidly expand, Island at the End of the World is an essential history of this mysterious site.
Quaternary Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeography offers an introduction to the study of the ecological and evolutionary processes that have shaped our present biosphere under the influence of glacial-interglacial cycles. Written by an ecologist with paleoecological expertise, this book reviews the climactic changes that have occurred during the last 2.6 million years, along with the responses of organisms and ecosystems. It offers an understanding of the evolutionary origin of extant biodiversity, its biogeographical patterns, and the composition of modern ecological communities. In addition, it explores human evolution and the influence of our activities on the biosphere, especially in the last millennia.This book offers the latest information on how studying the past can contribute to our understanding of present climate issues for a better future, and is an ideal resource for researchers and students in the natural sciences.
Paleocological Research on Easter Island: Insights on Settlement, Climate Changes, Deforestation and Cultural Shifts examines the area's climatic and ecological history, a topic not usually addressed in other literature. The book provides a thorough and synthetic account of all paleoecological works developed to date, including the latest discoveries. Finally, it attempts to match paleoecological evidence with the results of other disciplines creating a multidisciplinary framework. This approach to the field is ideal for researchers, university professors and graduate students in a varied range of disciplines and subdisciplines, including ecology, paleoecology, paleoclimatology, biogeography, sedimentology, and paleontology. Users will find synthesized information on Easter Island from the last millennia that will help pave the way towards an integrated interdisciplinary vision of the island's environmental-ecological-cultural system as a complex functional unit. Human and environmental deterministic views are avoided and the Easter Island enigmas are analyzed under a holistic perspective of continuous feedbacks and synergies among the different components of the system. Provides the first synthesis of the available paleoecological knowledge on Easter Island Furnishes clues on how to integrate paleoecological information with evidence from other disciplines Addresses the complexity of the environmental-ecological-cultural system by analyzing the interactions (feedbacks and synergies) among its components
