The enigma of Easter Island.

There has been mush puzzlement as to the reasons for the basalt stone head monolith's that are on Easter Island. It is perched in the Pacific Ocean, many thousands of miles from any other large land mass. The controversy has been over a number of issues. Why are they there? What is the purpose of them? How were they placed in these positions across the island? The current argument is that Polynesian people traveled across the ocean from South America west and landed there by the skill of their navigation and using the stars as a guide. It is thought that the initial migration from Africa started some 70,000 years ago. They made it so some have argued to Easter Island about 2,000 years ago. This is where the controversy starts. Was it as long ago as that or more recently? Theses skilled sailors made double hulk canoes that were very robust and could carry many men and also animals. They stayed and cultivated the land and eventually made these enormous sculptured heads and placed them facing inland around Easter Island. They stood on large stone platforms and weighed many tons. However over time the population grew and they cut down many more trees to enable more land to be given over to crop cultivation. Previously it had been a lush subtropical island with many fruits trees etc. This it is claimed is a modern day parable for us. If we continue to exploit our fragile ecosystem it will lead over time to our destruction. Easter Island has never recovered its former glory. This was well described on BBC Four last night by Dr Jago Cooper in Easter Island: Mysteries of a Lost World. 
Nevertheless the Rapa Nui people of today are some 5000 strong. Despite the terrible infliction of sheep farming that devastated the land, the country is slowly recovering. This is in large part due to the pioneering work of Catherine Routledge who came to the island in 1914, and recorded the stories from the elders of this unique civilization. The Rapa Nui are a resilient and resourceful people. They have survived for many hundred of years on this remote island, lets hope that they can continue to sustain their future for many more generations to come.