# Deforestation for statue transport and farming caused famine, warfare and a population crash in the…

> Disputed: Deforestation for statue transport and farming caused famine, warfare and a population crash in the seventeenth century, ending statue-making…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/easter-island-moai/answers/ANS0CTG33GT4MY7/deforestation-for-statue-transport-and-farming-caused-famine  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Easter Island moai](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/easter-island-moai)[Did Rapa Nui society collapse before European contact?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/easter-island-moai/questions/QST0CTG30B82PQ7/did-rapa-nui-society-collapse-before-european-contact)Answer

Answer · Easter Island moai

# Deforestation for statue transport and farming caused famine, warfare and a population crash in the…

Deforestation for statue transport and farming caused famine, warfare and a population crash in the seventeenth century, ending statue-making before 1722.

**Disputed** Answers **1** questionPublished0

## Where it stands

**Disputed** One piece of evidence for, five against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- A population of 15,000 or more falling to about 3,000; weapons and violent trauma; monument building ceasing before 1722; a genetic bottleneck in the 1600s.

## What would rule it out

- Continuous land use and monument building to contact, no bottleneck in the genomes, and an agricultural base that could never have fed a large population.

## Evidence 1 for · 5 against

[The palm forest was removed over the centuries after settlement.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/easter-island-moai/evidence/EVD0CTG33RM19JW/the-palm-forest-was-removed-over-the-centuries-after)

Established

FOR

[Ahu construction continued after 1722.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/easter-island-moai/evidence/EVD0CTG34882QYP/ahu-construction-continued-after-1722)

Supported

AGAINST

[Fifteen ancient genomes show steady growth and no bottleneck in the 1600s.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/easter-island-moai/evidence/EVD0CTG34ZP5F3A/fifteen-ancient-genomes-show-steady-growth-and-no-bottleneck)

Established

AGAINST

[Mata'a are general tools, not weapons.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/easter-island-moai/evidence/EVD0CTG34G23VNX/mataa-are-general-tools-not-weapons)

Supported

AGAINST

[Radiocarbon shows land use continuing across the island to contact.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/easter-island-moai/evidence/EVD0CTG340E3WX6/radiocarbon-shows-land-use-continuing-across-the-island-to)

Supported

AGAINST

[Rock gardens cover about 0.76 km², enough for about 3,000 people, so no large population existed.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/easter-island-moai/evidence/EVD0CTG34QW4K75/rock-gardens-cover-about-0-76-km2-enough-for-about-3-000)

Supported

AGAINST

## The questions it answers

[Did Rapa Nui society collapse before European contact?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/easter-island-moai/questions/QST0CTG30B82PQ7/did-rapa-nui-society-collapse-before-european-contact)

AnsweredNo answer ahead

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Deforestation for statue transport and farming caused famine, warfare and a population crash in the… [Answer ANS0CTG33GT4MY7]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0CTG33GT4MY7
```

Key

**ANS** 0CTG33GT4MY7

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Origin

Published

Version

1

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

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