Satellite images may provide a missing puzzle piece in the Easter Island saga

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Hundreds of monumental stone heads adorn the coastline of the remote Pacific island of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island. It's a fascinating place, settled about 900 years ago by a small group of Polynesian sailors. It has been the subject of fierce debate about how complex societies can sometimes fail ruinously.

Some experts, such as geographer Jared Diamond in his 2005 book "Collapse," used Easter Island as a cautionary example of how the exploitation of limited resources can result in ...