fallen civilisations

>>18261022
It was probably a lot more hospitable when they built the structures. The sea has probably swallowed up some of the island too, meaning it could have been larger at one point, but the paths could have just led to where they dock boats or something. If only a few generations lived there at some point, it could have been a colony that didn't manage to sustain itself. It's intriguing though to think that people once moved there to set up a new life and it all is lost to time now.

>>18261088
Sea levels have remained pretty constant for the last 3 Millenia, so if parts of the island did get swallowed up then the Civilization on Malden must be pretty old. It's interesting to think what it must of been like for the last inhabitants of the island - did it go out in an eruption of violence, or did the population slowly dwindle out, eventually reaching one or two individuals sitting alone among their temples and pyramids.

>>18261022
>So why did a group of about 100 Polynesians go and colonise this miserable scrap of land, somehow put up with the lack of any natural resource, then go to the trouble of building megalithic structures and pathways that go straight into the ocean?

There are three different island each less than 500 miles away from Malden with inhabitants. I have no trouble believing one or all of these natives decided this island was special somehow, and built culturally significant structures with no permanent settlement.

Thus, the pathway doesn't lead TO the ocean, it leads FROM the ocean. And since no one lived there, but only traveled there for rites of passage or some holy event or succession of rulers or whatever, there would be no expectation of housing or need of resources to live on.

Is there something in the recordings to contradict this hypothesis?

>>18261156
This seems to make the most sense to me, a group of Polynesians found the island to be religiously significant somehow, and went and constructed the megaliths. But if the island was a religious site, then the people that built them must of belonged to a pretty advanced society - one that could afford to feed all those people as well as keep them satisfied with visits to this supposed holy site. A degree of centralisation would be needed, not usually found on small pacify island populations. As far as I know, none of the islands around Malden supported this kind of society - Tonga is the only one I can think of it, and it is miles away from Malden.

>>18261156
"There were numerous cooking heaps of ashes and ignited stones... which must of been the accumulation of many generations."
This is from the diary of the guy who surveyed the island, which can be found here: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822025861816;view=1up;seq=34

>>18261022
The most likely explanation was that the constitutive generations of islanders simply cut down too many trees, leading to increased erosion and ground water salinity.
Then they simply packed up and left.

>>18261240
except they had cut down all the trees, so they had no canoes, and all starved to death or killed each other off

>>18261253
Only one canoe left, guys. Who's coming with? No fatties.

File: tsunamibeforeafter.jpg (33KB, 700x220px) Image search: [Google]

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>>18261234
But this fits my hypothesis. People went there. People built the structures. Those people would stay for a time, and eat. But they wouldn't stay permanently. No need for housing (tents), sanitation, or other remains of permanent settlement.

But reading through the report, it seems they DID find potential evidence of these structures, so I am likely wrong.

>>18261240
The "washed away" comment could also indicate a tsunami hit the island. They can be absolutely devastating to the low-elevation atolls. The report, however, says there wasn't much evidence that the entire island was overtaken. So while a tsunami would explain what happened, it doesn't seem the likely culprit.

>>18261271
Your idea makes a lot of sense, and it's a shame that the island has been mostly ignored by archaeologists. If Malden was a religious site, then there must of been some sort of centralized society that organized it - it's the classic start of civilization scenario: better agriculture means a ruling class can be created, which then organizes public works to show off power and impress the peasants. None of the tribal island societies around Malden really fit the bill.
Also here's the book Emory was referencing in his report: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40983989#page/211/mode/1up

>>18261022
Surprised there aren't a bunch of Lemuria autists replying

File: bouvet-lifeboat-hi-res.png (345KB, 676x282px) Image search: [Google]

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This isn't a "fallen civilization" per se, but here goes.

Bouvet Island is, quite literally, the most remote place on Earth. It is the furthest spot on Earth from any other land, and, due to its location in the storm-plagued Southern Ocean, very few ships go by. In 1964, an expedition from South Africa arrived at the island, and there they saw something that was simply impossible to explain. A lifeboat was floating in the lagoon. Nearby were a pair of oars ad a buoyancy tank, laid out in a manner that appeared to be the work of an intelligent person. The last expedition to the island was in 1955, so the boat must have landed between 1955 and 1964.

The theories began, but all proved to be flawed. The most likely was that a group of desperate sailors made their way to the island in hope of shelter. The would explain the buoyancy tank and the oars. However, why was there no sign of a camp, no bodies, and no equipment? The island is completely covered by glaciers except for one small area, which was completely covered by the crew, meaning there was no reason to move elsewhere. Plus, why did they leave the boat, the sole obvious source of shelter, in the lagoon?

It has also been suggested that the boat simply washed up on shore. While this explains the lack of bodies, it doesn't explain the intelligent arrangement of the equipment, or the fantastical odds of a ship floating through the harsh ocean without being ripped to shreds.

A third theory is that a ship went there briefly without our knowledge and left the boat. This explains the lack of a campsite, and also the small amount of equipment found. However, there are no ships which fit this bill, and the evidence of desperation by any crew on thi journey also sink holes in this theory as well.

In the end, the mystery is, to this day, unsolved. We may never know what happened to that lifeboat, or if any crew it may have carried made it out alive.

>>18261022
>bunch of assholes get into an argument that ends with "fine, we'll make our own kingdom!"
>bunch of assholes sail off, can't find fuck all to settle on except this barren asshole of an island so they make do
>pretend everything is fine and dandy, too prideful to realise their kingdom is a piece of shit
>couple generations later their descendants realise there is literally no reason to be on this piece of shit slice of paradise and fuck off

>>18261022
Probably forced there? Like sick people maybe weird people, maybe criminals. Then they of course all died. Where da mystery

>>18261111
Sea levels don't need to rise for erosion to cause unstable parts of island to wash away or crumble