Post #189887 by gwenners on Fri, Sep 30, 2005 9:42 AM

On 2005-09-30 08:36, tikitortured wrote:
That tiny island's resources simply couldn't support the population needed to carve, drag, then erect those monsters...Right?

I'm sure others here can speak far more cogently on this, but if memory serves, they didn't have enough resources -- which is a large part of why things went the way they did amongst the people of Rapa Nui. Deforestation has a way of doing that.

When I was younger, I was more willing to believe that aliens or some other form of paranormal activity were involved with the figures, or some of the other wonders of the ancient world. Then I realised that I was selling our ancestors short. Those of us in the modern age are always so willing to cast those who came before us as being "primitive," and unable to achieve the amazing things they did. Makes me wonder what people will think of us in a few hundred years: will "wonders" like whatever remains of our skyscrapers and monuments be cast as having been fashioned by aliens, simply because our future selves cannot fathom people as backwards as us making such marvels?

Oh, and here's some useful, if scant, information on the Island's history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Island

Cheers,
Gwen Smith

[ Edited by: gwenners 2005-09-30 17:21 ]