Easter Island
Approximately 500 years ago, the flourishing society of Easter Island suffered a steep decline in population. Many theories have surfaced explaining how this could have happened to such a thriving culture. Within this small, isolated island in the Pacific Ocean, researchers have uncovered archaeological evidence that clearly indicates one theory for the decimation of the Easter Islanders above all others: invaders.
First, the disappearance of nearly every tree on this Island points to the kind of environmental destruction that could only result from foreign incursions. Researchers discovered that this land now devoid of trees was once covered with palms. Biological evidence indicates an abundance of palm for centuries until about 500 years ago, the time when the population nearly vanished. Only invaders could have brought about that kind of destruction all at once.
Another key piece of support lies in the archeological discovery of spear tips that appeared at around the same time as the near destruction of the Islanders. These spear tips show beyond any doubt that there was conflict and warfare on the island best explained by the onslaught of invaders. In addition to these war implements, skeletons from that time have been examined and show the kind of deformation that results only from combat.
Last, the appearance of a new religion provides more support. Special dating methods used by archeologists determined that "birdman" statues surfaced at the same time as the dramatic shift in population. As history proves time and time again, when an invading force occupies a new territory, it takes with it its customs, culture, and religion. The abandonment of the old religious order for the new "birdman" religion as evidenced by these statues must be understood as the outcome of invasion.
Listening
The article states that invaders indicated one theory for the decimation of Easter Islanders and provides three reasons of support. However, the author refutes this point by saying that the notion that invaders caused them to disappear is sadly wrong and he refutes each of the article’s reasons.
First, the article claims that the disappearance of nearly every tree on this Island points to the kind of environment destruction that could be caused by foreign incursions. On the other hand, the professor refutes this point by saying that invaders do not destroy trees. Islanders start to construct symbols and statues all over the places cutting down trees. They do that to demonstrate that that one was their territory.
Second, the article avers that archaeological discovery of spear tips appear around the same time as the near destruction of the Islanders,supporting the theory that they caused the decimation of islanders. On the other hand, the lecturer opposes this point by explaining that spears didn't come from Invaders. The spears were created as defense from fellow Islanders. There is was a time of depletion of resources that cause a civil war among them. That is why the create the spears as defense.
Finally,the reading says that the appearance of a new religion support their theory. However, because of almost exhausted resources, islanders stop believing that their current religion practice was effective. Hence they created the birdman practice and they were connected to this new one as a new religion.
says that the appearance of a new religion support their theory.
says that the appearance of a new religion supports their theory.
There is was a time
There was a time
flaws:
Don't repeat words or phrases like ' On the other hand'
Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 24 in 30
Category: Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 2 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 14 12
No. of Words: 250 250
No. of Characters: 1256 1200
No. of Different Words: 131 150
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 3.976 4.2
Average Word Length: 5.024 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.534 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 96 80
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 70 60
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 43 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 32 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 17.857 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 6.823 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.571 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.329 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.56 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.077 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 4 4