The traditional narrative that Easter Island’s settlers caused their own downfall through environmental degradation has been challenged by new research showing a stable population managed through ingenious agricultural practices like rock gardening. Despite geographical challenges and limited resources, the islanders sustained their population with a combination of sweet potatoes and marine resources, supported by evidence from satellite imagery and archaeological findings.
The 63-square-mile island is made entirely of volcanic rock, but unlike lush tropical islands such as Hawaii and Tahiti, eruptions ceased hundreds of thousands of years ago, and mineral nutrients brought up by lava have long since eroded from soils. Located in the subtropics, the island is also dryer than its tropical brethren.
In the new study, members of the research team did on-the-ground surveys of rock gardens and their characteristics over a five-year period. Using this data, they then trained a series of machine-learning models to detect gardens through satellite imagery tuned to newly available shortwave infrared spectra, which highlights not just rocks, but places of higher soil moisture and nitrogen, which are key features of gardens.
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