Critical Evaluation of Diamond’s “Collapse” Narrative is not a “Strawman” argument

The degree to which some researchers continue to defend Jared Diamond’s empirically and theoretically insufficient “Collapse” narrative is baffling. The defense of “collapse” appears to have nothing to do with (1) anything Diamond has published, (2) available archaeological evidence, (3) detailed and logical reasoning. Throwing barbs like “strawman” and other baseless accusations (such as the […]

Read More Critical Evaluation of Diamond’s “Collapse” Narrative is not a “Strawman” argument

A model-based approach to the tempo of “collapse”: The case of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Beau, Terry, Tim and I just published a new article in the Journal of Archaeological Science. Some of the news releases for the article are here: http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/anthropology/easter-island-society-did-not-collapse-08095.html and https://phys.org/pdf500210828.pdf The published version of the article is here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440320300182?via%3Dihub. You can find a copy of this article here: https://orb.binghamton.edu/anthropology_fac/44 In the article, using existing radiocarbon dates […]

Read More A model-based approach to the tempo of “collapse”: The case of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Commentary on Puleston et al (2018): Commentary: Rain, Sun, Soil, and Sweat: A Consideration of Population Limits on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) before European Contact

Carl P. Lipo1*, Robert J. DiNapoli2, Terry L. Hunt3 1Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, USA. 2Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA. 3Honors College and School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. Keywords: collapse, demography, Easter Island, model parameterization, open science Constructive criticism is the foundation of sound scientific […]

Read More Commentary on Puleston et al (2018): Commentary: Rain, Sun, Soil, and Sweat: A Consideration of Population Limits on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) before European Contact

AN ANNOTATED VERSION OF JARED DIAMOND’S 1995 ARTICLE “EASTER’S END” – PART III

Pollen records show that destruction of Easter’s forests was well under way by the year 800 [there is no evidence were here on the island at this time. The only evidence for humans on Raa Nui comes at 1200AD], just a few centuries after the start of human settlement [also wrong]. Then charcoal from wood […]

Read More AN ANNOTATED VERSION OF JARED DIAMOND’S 1995 ARTICLE “EASTER’S END” – PART III

AN ANNOTATED VERSION OF JARED DIAMOND’S 1995 ARTICLE “EASTER’S END” – PART II

European visitors throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries estimated Easter’s human population at about 2,000, a modest number considering the island’s fertility [Why is this ‘modest’? It is only that way if you assume there must have been many more people. Given the size of the island, the fraction that is useful for cultivation […]

Read More AN ANNOTATED VERSION OF JARED DIAMOND’S 1995 ARTICLE “EASTER’S END” – PART II

An annotated version of Jared Diamond’s 1995 article “Easter’s End” – Part I 

The content below was written by Jared Diamond and appeared in the August 1, 1995 edition of Discover Magazine (http://discovermagazine.com/1995/aug/eastersend543). The content of the article article been widely copy-and-pasted by others and often serves as the basis for what people think they know about the island. Here, I try to provide comments to help update […]

Read More An annotated version of Jared Diamond’s 1995 article “Easter’s End” – Part I