Episode 6 of Fall of Civilizations is now live!
Added 2019-06-29 10:33:16 +0000 UTCAs always, I like to give my subscribers the first news of a new episode going live, and I'm so excited to announce that Episode 6 of Fall of Civilizations is now live on SoundCloud. You can go and listen to it there right now, or wait for it to be updated across all the usual podcasting platforms,
In this episode, we take a look at one of archaeology’s most enduring puzzles: the mystery of Easter Island. Find out how this unique community grew up in complete isolation, severed from the rest of the world by a vast expanse of ocean. Discover the incredible story of how it survived for so many centuries, and examine the evidence about what happened to finally bring this society, and its statues, crashing down.
This episode features some very special guests: children from the Toki School of Music and Arts that operates on Easter Island, sharing with us some of the ancestral chants that go right back to the time of the statue carving culture.
I want to thank each and every one of you for your patience in waiting for the new episode, and for supporting and encouraging me. Without you, none of this could be possible.
Thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy the new episode!
Comments
This is by far my favourite episode. I live in a small island in Greece of a mere 3.000 inhabitants. My experience as a child and the nuances in the society to avoid physical conflict by competing on who will provide the most to the society goes unnoticed to the unsustainable visitors who bluntly consider our hospitality as a commodity. It saddens me though to learn the disrespect and damage that outsiders caused to these people. Thank you for making this as well as all the other episodes. It truly exposes the human traits that we all know too well but are too frail to admit.
Anarlis
2025-08-08 09:54:42 +0000 UTCJust catching up with some of the older pods and I think this one is my favourite, very emotional and sad collapse, but also a testament to great story telling.
Josh
2024-01-14 14:12:51 +0000 UTCwell if not Polynesia as a whole then why not the Maori of Aotearoa/New Zealand? their post European contact is very well documented and the subsequent wars against the British,their innovative development and use of early trench warfare is truly fascinating,in any case I haven't missed a single episode have thoroughly love each one and can't wait for the next
KAISAH fx
2021-01-27 10:27:56 +0000 UTCThanks Alexandre! A lot of this is wreathed in unknowns - there's little evidence for any further contact with the outside world after their arrival, although it may have happened! As for the sweet potato, it's uncertain too. There's some good reading on it here: https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article-abstract/53/348/41/2882969?redirectedFrom=PDF We don't really know when the birdman competition began, although it seems to have been during the latter history of the island. However, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that some competition of this kind occurred before the cult became fully-fledged (as it were). I try to avoid spending the whole episode saying "maybe a or maybe b", so you'll excuse when I sometimes paper over these uncertainties!
Fall of Civilizations Podcast
2019-07-01 13:03:34 +0000 UTCThis was an episode I was looking a lot forward to! Some comments: isn't it established that the Birdman cult was relatively recent to Easter Island? When I visited the island I remember the guides saying the Birdman cult emerged as a form of re-establishing social cohesion after the Moai topplings. Also, the bird man competitors didn't swim back with one hand: they had special hats made for that purpose that they would wear and carry the egg on a pouch in their heads. Finally, I wished you had also explored the fascinating story of the Polynesian civilization and its own collapse. Also according to the local guides, Polinesians didn't simply accidentally discover Rapa Nui once, but it was part of a larger trade routes that reached as far as South American and New Zealand, the theory saying that Sweet Potato was an import from Chile. But then one day some unknown event led to infighting in the Mo'rea (IFRC) which made suddenly all the long voyages stop. The Rapa Nui then slowly forgot the technology for building large ocean crossing canoes and believed themselves to the last humans in the planet. I don't know how much historical record there is to support it, but I love to think the impact that meeting europeans would be to a people that considered themselves the only and most advanced civilization on an ocean planet.
Alexandre Van de Sande
2019-07-01 12:18:30 +0000 UTCThanks, really glad you enjoyed!
Fall of Civilizations Podcast
2019-07-01 07:19:12 +0000 UTCThanks so much, I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Diamond has had some vocal disagreements with archaeologists like Lipo and Hunt. He released an article defending his theory, although I don't find it convincing.
Fall of Civilizations Podcast
2019-07-01 07:18:59 +0000 UTCAnother great episode, learned a lot yet again!
Ferdi
2019-07-01 06:50:52 +0000 UTCAnother excellent episode! I'm hesitant to share this here, but so be it. I cried listening about the real reason for the collapse. ( On a sidenote, would Jared Diamond be familiar with this theory?)
Lana
2019-07-01 05:39:41 +0000 UTCThanks so much, really kind of you! I hope you enjoy the new episode.
Fall of Civilizations Podcast
2019-06-29 18:00:57 +0000 UTCExcellent! I can’t wait to listen. Thanks so much. I really look forward to your posts!
Catherine
2019-06-29 17:36:50 +0000 UTCYes, this one was quite an undertaking!
Fall of Civilizations Podcast
2019-06-29 10:49:49 +0000 UTCNearly two hours, woooohhhooo!
Lana
2019-06-29 10:38:00 +0000 UTC
