There are good reasons the story of Easter Island is often held up as a parable for planet Earth and humanity’s future. The tiny island was, for centuries, as isolated in the vast Pacific Ocean as is our little blue dot in the vastness of space. And the people who lived there are legendary for scaling the heights of creativity and descending the depths of destruction.
But the story of the island, which is also called Rapa Nui, has changed with time — especially the part about destruction — as new archaeological evidence has come to light.
What’s agreed upon is that Polynesian explorers discovered the island and the first settlers arrived probably between 900 and 1200 CE. They brought crops and chickens with them, knowing this was a one-way journey. What happened next is not exactly known.