Science Focus: Easter Island 1.2段

For the years, the story of Easter Island has been used in textbooks as an example of how humans can seriously degrade their own life-support system. It concerns a civilization that once thrived and then disappeared from a small, isolated island in the great expanse of South Pacific, located about 3,600 kilometers (2,200 miles) off the coast of Chile.

Scientists used anthropological evidence and scientific measurements to estimate the ages of certain artifacts found on Easter Island (also called Rapa Nui). They hypothesized that about 2,900 years ago, Polynesians used double-hulled, seagoing canoes to colonize the island. The settlers probably found a paradise with fertile soil that supported dense and diverse forests and lush grasses. According to this hypothesis, the islanders thrived, and their population increased to as many as 15,000 people.

這些年來，復活節島這個故事已用於教科書，例如人怎麼能夠嚴重降低他們自己的生命支持系統。它涉及一個文明，曾經繁榮，然後消失在遼闊的南太平洋中的一個小孤島，位於智利的外海約三千六百公里處（二千二百英里）。

科學家使用人類學證據和科學的測量，估計在復活節島某些器物上的年齡（也稱為拉帕努伊） 。他們推測，大約二千九百年前，波利尼西亞人使用雙重船殼的獨木舟，航海殖民該島。定居者可能發現了一個天堂，肥沃的土壤，支持密集的和多樣化的森林和茂密的青草。根據這一假說，島民蓬勃發展，其人口增長多達一萬五千人。