| [00:00.36] |
Houses were abandoned and the foundation stones used to construct fortified dwellings in caves underground. |
| [00:08.87] |
Some evidence even suggests that once everything edible had been consumed, |
| [00:13.49] |
the starving were driven to that most desperate of acts, cannibalism. |
| [00:17.42] |
Understandably, this version of Easter Island's history remains controversial, |
| [00:21.60] |
because it suggests the Rapa Nui were incredibly short-sighted. |
| [00:25.54] |
As the trees dwindled, why did they do nothing about it? |
| [00:28.46] |
But a new theory suggests the Rapa Nui were powerless to prevent their downfall, |
| [00:33.72] |
for when they arrived on this island, they were not alone. |
| [00:37.26] |
Rats travelled with people to every corner of the Pacific. |
| [00:40.94] |
on Easter Island, their impact may have been catastrophic. |
| [00:44.27] |
Multiplying to plague proportions, |
| [00:46.48] |
they would have devoured the wild fruits, the seabirds, even the nuts of the giant palms, |
| [00:52.23] |
so that the trees may have stopped reproducing long before the last one was felled. |
| [00:56.86] |
|
