Rock piles bust Easter Island myth

+ tree carvings from 19th-century Basque herders; staying safe from lightning US Edition - Today's top story: Rocks on Rapa Nui tell the story of a small, resilient population − countering the notion of a doomed overpopulated island [View in browser]( US Edition | 26 June 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( The famous ancient, giant statues on Rapa Nui, aka Easter Island, have long been cited as evidence that the tiny, remote Pacific island once held a large population. After all, common sense suggests it would take many people to make and move those multiton stone heads. And, tragically, that population was too big for the island to sustain. Research in recent years, however, has chipped away at that notion. The latest blow comes from an AI analysis of satellite imagery of piles of rocks. The study, led by Binghamton University archaeologist Carl Lipo, illuminates the issue of [how much food]( the islanders ever grew at any time, and thus how many people likely lived there. Also in this week’s science news: - [Replacing lead pipes with plastic could bring health risks]( - [How climate change is heating up the weather]( - [The health questions on menthol e-cigarettes]( If there’s a subject you’d like our team of science editors to investigate, please reply to this email. Eric Smalley Science + Technology Editor Covering the ground with rocks is actually a good way to grow some crops in poor soil. Carl Lipo [Rocks on Rapa Nui tell the story of a small, resilient population − countering the notion of a doomed overpopulated island]( Carl Lipo, Binghamton University, State University of New York Satellite data shows the amount of food the residents of the tiny Pacific island have grown over time, pointing to a small but stable population. Carvings made over decades by Basque herders are endangered as their canvas, the aspens, are at risk. Sawtooth Mountains, 2011, Idaho Basque Arborglyphs Collection, Special Collections and Archives, Albertsons Library, Boise State University [Arborglyphs – Basque immigrant sheepherders left their marks on aspen trees in the American West]( John Bieter, Boise State University; Cheryl Oestreicher, Boise State University; Iñaki Arrieta Baro, University of Nevada, Reno Herders carved names, slogans, nude silhouettes and more into the trees around them during lonely seasons in the mountains. Now, researchers rush to find and record the arborglyphs before they disappear. Baseball fans clear the stands as lightning strikes near the Colorado Rockies’ stadium in 2019. Julio Aguilar/Getty Images [Lightning season is here: Fast facts and how to stay safe, from a meteorologist]( Chris Vagasky, University of Wisconsin-Madison What really happens when lightning strikes cars, what to do if you’re out in the open or on a beach, and other tips for National Lightning Safety Awareness Week. 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