However it happened, was losing the forest really such a bad thing? According to the theory of self-destruction, the massive deforestation loosened the topsoil, which blew into the ocean, depleting the ground of nutrients and causing food shortages. However, ongoing research suggests that erosion was not the problem people have assumed.
Thegn Ladefoged of the University of Auckland in New Zealand is analysing samples of soil from locations across the island. In general, the soils are poor, he reported at the meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in May. Nevertheless, he adds, there is no clear evidence of extreme soil degradation across the island. “I think people have extrapolated from one area which does show extreme degradation, Poike, to the whole island. I just don’t see it,” says Ladefoged.