Based on the research of Flenley, Orilac, Steadman and Diamond- we know that the island was once a robust culture full of islanders. Hunt and Lipo followed with their research on the well-established Collapse theory. Which of the following statements is incorrect? *

Easter Island — the name is synonymous with mystery, intrigue of archaeology, and today an ecological parable of reckless choices and ruin. The hundreds of giant statues known as moai located on a remote windswept and treeless landscape cry out for explanation of what happened there. Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as it is known to the island’s native Polynesians, has also become the “poster child” for what happens when societies squander their resources and destroy their environment. In his book Collapse, Jared Diamond describes an ecological catastrophe brought on by the island’s inhabitants that led to their own destruction. Diamond (2005) calls it “ecocide”: the choice to construct giant statues led to the island’s ecological devastation and the collapse of the ancient civilization. He and other researchers offer the ecocide story as a parable for our own potential destruction of the global environment. But is the story told for Easter’s human-induced environmental change correct, particularly what has been said about the causes and consequences? We consider new evidence from Rapa Nui in light of recent discoveries from the Hawaiian Islands and offer some perspectives for the island’s ecological transformation and the consequences.