Name: ___________________
The Mystery of Easter Island and Commas

Commas should be used:
1. to combine two strong clauses joined with a coordinating conjunction
2. to separate items in a series or list
3. to set off introductory phrases or clauses.

Commas should not join independent clauses without coordinating conjunctions or dependent markers. 	

Directions: put commas and periods where they belong.  
Sentences from A Short History of Progress, by Ronald Wright

1. The greatest wonder of the ancient world is how recent it all is for no city or monument is much more than 5000 years old

2. Even today some believe that the wonders of the ancient world were built by Atlanteans gods or space travelers instead of by thousands toiling in the sun

3. The great mystery of Easter Island that struck all early visitors was not just that these colossal statues stood in such a tiny and remote corner of the world but that the stones seemed to have been set down from the sky

4. We now know the answer to the riddle and it is a chilling one

5. No natural disaster eruption drought or disease had ravaged Easter Island the catastrophe was man

6. Like Polynesians on some other islands each clan began to honor its ancestry with impressive stone images

7. As time went on the statue building became increasingly rivalrous and extravagant

8. Each generation of images grew bigger than the last and required more timber rope and manpower

9. Trees were cut faster than they could grow and the settler’s rats ate the tree seeds and saplings

10. For a generation or so there was enough old lumber to keep a few canoes sea worthy

11. Wars broke out over ancient planks and worm eaten bits of driftwood they ate all their dogs

12. If there was no wood then there could be no statues no boats no seafood and no escape