Enst 201 Lecture 2 Outline of Last Lecture I Neo Malthusian II Cornucopian III Malthus IV Why is there Climate Denial Outline of Current Lecture I Easter Island II Sumerians Current Lecture I Easter Island Polynesian o Bought with them chicken and rats o Dietary base on the sea like fishes and mainly Porpoise The forest on the island was simple o Simple because the island was remote therefore not a variety of seeds made it to the island o There was one special tree the Polynesian depended on A type of palm tree Used for making boats sap from it is used to ferment beverages and fruits contained high protein can be eaten Parallels between past and modern society o Politically both are anarchical missing a higher leader o There usually are many leaders but none of the leader have enough power to enforce rules on other leaders Using resources for luxury instead of necessities These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute A way to symbolize status which can lead to higher fertility rates Possible explanation for the sizes of statues on Easter Island o II The statues may also been built for religious reasons Why didn t the Polynesian realize the deterioration of the environment o It was a gradual process o No one had power to stop the process Rats o Chewed up the palm tree seeds which made it difficult for natural reproduction of the trees o No trees increase erosion decrease fertility in soil Sumerians First civilization o Division of labor o Agriculture Developed irrigation to grow crops Increase crop productivity Led to the development of other occupation o Invented writing o Crop Records shows how the environment deteriorated over time Initially same amount of wheat and barley were planted Later more barely was planted because of its high tolerance This transition from wheat to barley shows how the soil was being salinized due to irrigation o The Sumerians did not have annual flooding like the Egyptians o Eventually was conquered by the Babylonians One of the reasons may be the decrease in food production
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