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39 votes
***25 Points*** (part 2)

What are the different hypotheses for why Easter Island collapsed and what evidence supports these hypotheses?

User Dave Addey
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2 Answers

19 votes
19 votes
However, UCLA archaeologist Jo Anne Van Tilburg—also not involved with the study—expressed skepticism. "The collapse narrative as these authors describe it is a straw man they have set up that does not accurately reflect the actual hypothesis," Van Tilburg told Sapiens. She thinks Diamond's collapse hypothesis is still a viable option, arguing that his hypothesis was not based on a single collapse event but on a series of events that led to the destruction of the social structure, aggravated further by the arrival of European explorers.
User Mythofechelon
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21 votes
21 votes

One of them is the cryocide hypothesis, stating that the population once suffered a big collapse because they cryometric use of natural resources, which led to the ground below imploding and sinking.

User Matt Klooster
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