Island-wide characterization of agricultural production challenges the demographic collapse hypothesis for Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Communities in resource-poor areas face health, food production, sustainability, and overall survival challenges. Consequently, they are commonly featured in global debates surrounding societal collapse. Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is often used as an example of how over-exploitation of limited resources resulted in a catastrophic population collapse. A vital component of this narrative is that the rapid rise and fall of pre-contact Rapanui population growth rates was driven by the construction and overexploitation of once extensive rock gardens. However, the extent of island-wide rock gardening, while key for understanding food systems and demography, must be better understood. Here, we use shortwave infrared (SWIR) satellite imagery and machine learning to generate an islandwide estimate of rock gardening and re-evaluate prior population size models for Rapa Nui. We show that the extent of this agricultural infrastructure is substantially less than previously claimed and likely could not..., , , # Data from: Island-wide characterization of agricultural production challenges the demographic collapse hypothesis for Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

### Author Information:

* Principal Investigators: Dylan S. Davis
* Co-Investigators: Robert J. DiNapoli, Gina Pakarati, Terry L. Hunt, and Carl P. Lipo

### Date of data collection/creation:

2023 January

### Geographic location of data collection:

Rapa Nui, Chile

### Funders and sponsors of data collection:

National Science Foundation (BCS-1841420, BCS-2218602), National Geographic Society’s Enduring Impacts: Archaeology of Sustainability Program (NGS-85450R-21)
DSD is supported by a National Science Foundation SBE Fellowship (SMA-2203789).

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### Recommended citation for the data:

suggested: Davis, D. S., R. J. DiNapoli, G. Pakarati, T. L. Hunt, and C. P. Lipo (2023). Island-wide characterization of agricultural production challenges the demographic coll...

资源匮乏地区的社区面临健康、粮食生产、可持续性以及整体生存的多重挑战。因此，它们常被纳入围绕社会崩溃展开的全球讨论之中。拉帕努伊（Rapa Nui，即复活节岛）常被用作案例，用以说明有限资源的过度开发如何引发灾难性的人口崩溃。这一叙事的关键一环是，前接触时期拉帕努伊人人口增速的快速起落，源于曾规模宏大的石质菜园的建造与过度开发。然而，尽管岛域范围内的石质菜园规模是理解当地粮食系统与人口统计学的关键，但我们对其的认知仍有待深化。本研究借助短波红外（shortwave infrared, SWIR）卫星影像与机器学习技术，对全岛石质菜园的规模进行了估算，并重新评估了过往针对拉帕努伊岛的人口规模模型。研究表明，该农业基础设施的实际规模远低于此前的论断，其大概率无法支撑……
# 数据来源：《全岛农业生产特征研究挑战拉帕努伊（复活节岛）的人口崩溃假说》

### 作者信息：
* 首席研究员：迪伦·S·戴维斯（Dylan S. Davis）
* 联合研究员：罗伯特·J·迪纳波利（Robert J. DiNapoli）、吉娜·帕卡拉蒂（Gina Pakarati）、特里·L·亨特（Terry L. Hunt）与卡尔·P·利波（Carl P. Lipo）

### 数据收集/创建日期：
2023年1月

### 数据收集地理位置：
智利拉帕努伊岛

### 数据收集资助方与赞助方：
美国国家科学基金会（BCS-1841420、BCS-2218602）、国家地理学会“持久影响：可持续性考古学”项目（NGS-85450R-21）
D.S.D. 获美国国家科学基金会SBE奖学金资助（SMA-2203789）

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建议引用：Davis, D. S., R. J. DiNapoli, G. Pakarati, T. L. Hunt, and C. P. Lipo (2023). 全岛农业生产特征研究挑战拉帕努伊（复活节岛）的人口崩溃假说（Island-wide characterization of agricultural production challenges the demographic collapse hypothesis for Rapa Nui (Easter Island)）