Study suggests history of Rapa Nui on Easter Island far more complex than thought
http://phys.org/news/2015-01-history-rapa-nui-easter-island.html
This is not really a change of story but rather a change of emphasis in a liberally politically correct way. Because the islanders did deforest Easter Island long before the Europeans came so they lost their ability to fish and travel—while they degraded the soil.
I just came back from a tour of Mayan ruins in central America. There were miles of temples pyramids that all returned to the jungles about 800 AD for reasons that are murky. I was heard there was some kind of peasant revolt but that would only come if the gods killed the crops byo drought flood, pestilence disease erosion etc.
The Spanish had nothing to do with Mayan decline. Same goes for the Moocha in Peru—who disappeared in the same time frame.
Study suggests history of Rapa Nui on Easter Island far more complex than thought
http://phys.org/news/2015-01-history-rapa-nui-easter-island.html
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No it doesn’t. What you’re reading is the reporters complex biases on the subject. Not the actual subject itself.
Take a look at this last paragraph from the physorg story and and then look at the last sentence.
The analysis suggests region-specific dynamics including precontact land use decline in some near-coastal and upland areas and postcontact increases and subsequent declines in other coastal locations. These temporal land-use patterns correlate with rainfall variation and soil quality, with poorer environmental locations declining earlier. This analysis confirms that the intensity of land use decreased substantially in some areas of the island before European contact.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-01-history-rapa-nui-easter-island.html#jCp