Two recent studies have cast doubt on a popular theory that the ancient residents of Easter Island suffered a societal collapse because they overexploited their natural resources, an event often labelled one of history's first "ecocides".
Easter Island, located in the Pacific Ocean 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles) from the coast of Chile, is best known for the enigmatic "moai" stone statues of humans carved by the Rapanui people.
