Anarchy on the Easter Islands Caused or Constituted - 825 Words

Anarchy on the Easter Islands: Caused or Constituted? (Essay Sample) Content: Anarchy on the Easter Islands: Caused or Constituted?NameInstitutional AffiliationIntroduction of thesis and main pointsVarious schools of thought try to expound on the Anarchy that led to the near extinction of the Rapa Nui. Rationalists contend that anarchy had its genesis on the shift of capabilities and or material possessions as a result of rapid population growth. Various theories explain that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s the growing population size and its impeding consequences that resulted to the strife that finally led to the collapse of the peaceful civilization. However, constructivists affirm that the anarchy emanated from the disruption brought about by the explorers who introduced ailments and slavery in Easter Islands and overturned the ideals and the norms of the Rapa Nui. Ancient descriptions of Rapa Nui historical timeline invoke warfare and environmental degradation as core catalysts of the rapid collapse of the Islands economic and social fabric. One key aspect in these reconstructions are the mataà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬a obsidian points which have been thought to have been made within the framework of endemic warfare. However, morphometric research unravels that mataà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬a were uniquely designed for peaceful aspects such as farming and ritual scarificationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s and hence this rules out the theory that they were tools crafted for interpersonal violence objectives. Hence, the Rapa Nui didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬t kill themselves but the Europeans slavery and ailments that played a major role in wiping them to almost near extinction.Main point 1: Explanation of the anarchy that developed on the Easter Islands using a rationalist argumentRationalists affirm that anarchy emanated from the shift of capabilities and or material possessions as an immediate consequence of the rapid population growth of the Rapa Nui residents. According to Shira, (2016, March 3) overtime, the tiny island became overpopulated leading to a spiraling misuse of the islands fragi le ecosystem and resources depletion by its widening population and this countertuitively resulted to warfare. Consequently, the ever growing population split into distinct individual groups initiated a fight with other groups over the control of the diminishing resources such as water and food. Archaeological evidence purports that an affair of hit and run was evoked during these disastrous scrabble for resources and this escalated further strife and crisis. Also, Intense tribal warfare resulted to a deliberate toppling of the moai statues which were pushed down and their serene repose utterly destroyed. In addition, disastrous famine struck the island since the residents were constantly involved in warfare, hence their farming fields went unattended and unplanted. Cannibalism seems to have stemmed from the starvation. Further archaeological evidence unravels that the residents started designing the mataà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬a weapons to advance the warfare. Hence it is evident that to some d egree the anarchy of the Easter Islands was catapulted by the scrabble for resources and the detrimental implications of the ever growing population of the Rapa Nui.Main point 2: Explanation of the anarchy that developed on the Easter Islands using a constructivist argumentConstructivists contend that anarchy emanated from European explorers who introduced disruption to the Rapa Nui. According to Shira, (2016, March 3), through the small pox ailment and slavery that they brought up to the Easter Islands, and their western influence which eventually washed the original ideals and the norms of Rapa Nui, their detrimental actions played a major role in nosediving the civilization in the island. According to Easter Island in context: From paradise to calamity [Video file]. (2002), the arrival of the European explorers was accompanied by multiplication of rats which thrived in the volcanic island due to the abundance supply of the palm tree seeds. However, the rats ate the vegetation fas ter than it could grow. Also, the invasion of the Dutch altered and overturned vast aspects and customs in Rapa Nui, and this brewed conflict. The European explorers needed food and sustenance and so clearance of land for farming in the island was necessary. They also sought firewood and this led to deforestation, damaging the beautiful serene nature which led to the current bare state of the island. Deforestation coupled with extreme ecosystem changes of the island resulted in a rapid disintegration of the moai statues and the ancient serene nature of the island.Main point 3: Assessment of which argument provides the most logical explanation for the anarchical events on the Easter Islands.Though the constructivists view that the habitats of the Rapa Nui took part in initiating their demise through an environmental calamity of their own making, further archaeological field work in the island suggests that the small pox ailment and the slavery introduced by the European explorers p layed a much larger role in wiping the Rapa Nui than their own environmental demise. One core factor that is still thought to have wrecked the ecosystem of the Rapa Nui is the deforestation action undertaken by the European explorers by wiping out vast palm trees to create space for their settlements and to make fires. The Polynesian rats thought to have arrived in Rapa Nui with human settlers are likely to ...