Houses were abandoned and the foundation stones used to construct fortified dwellings in caves underground.
居所被遺棄，而基石則被用來在地下的洞穴中建造堡壘
Some evidence even suggests that once everything edible had been consumed, the starving were driven to that most desperate of acts - cannibalism.
一些證據甚至表明當食物被消耗殆盡，飢餓的人們被迫走上最絕望的道路--食人
Understandably, this version of Easter Island's history remains controversial, because it suggests the Rapa Nui were incredibly short-sighted.
可以理解這個版本的復活節島歷史，依然充滿爭議，因為它暗示拉帕努伊人目光短淺
As the trees dwindled, why did they do nothing about it?
當樹林減少時，為什麼他們不採取任何行動
But a new theory suggests the Rapa Nui were powerless to prevent their downfall, for when they arrived on this island, they were not alone.
但一種新的理論稱，拉帕努伊人無力阻止他們文明的衰落。因為他們並不是孤身來到這座島嶼的
Rats travelled with people to every corner of the Pacific.
老鼠隨著人類來到太平洋的每一個角落
On Easter Island, their impact may have been catastrophic.
在復活節島上它們的影響也許是災難性的
Multiplying to plague proportions, they would have devoured the wild fruits, the seabirds, even the nuts of the giant palms, so that the trees may have stopped reproducing long before the last one was felled.
老鼠迅速繁殖泛濫成災，它們可能吃光了野果、鳥，甚至是巨棕櫚的果實。以至於最後一棵巨棕櫚倒下時，這些樹早已不再繁衍了