This seminar is part of the Ronin Institute Public Seminar Series, featuring our Research Scholars. We welcome members of the public, but please register ahead of time to get the meeting link.
Presenter: Candace Gossen, Ronin Institute Research Scholar
Date: Feb 12, 2021 Time: 2:00-3:00 PM US Eastern Time / 19:00-20:00 UTC (in your local time) Add to your calendar Hosted by: Stéphanie Cassilde, Ronin Institute Research Scholar
Summary: According to historical views by colonizing wayward voyagers, Easter Island was a barren island, devoid of trees and full of giant statues left behind from a cultural collapse. These myths have now been rejected and the truth accepted that slavery diminished Easter Island’s 4,000 people to 111 in 1862. But an important question remains: Did the islanders really cut down all of their trees? The only way to literally dig into the past to uncover what plants, ecosystems, and climate changes were occurring was to core the ancient crater lake of Rano Kao. In this presentation, Candace will present the results of 15,000 years of discovery with an answer to: What really happened to the trees?
Fun Fact from Candace: While doing this field research, I learned what it was like to work in a quagmire and walk on water.
