Demography in Archaeology

Demography in Archaeology PDF

Author: Andrew T. Chamberlain

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-07-06

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1139455346

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Demography in Archaeology, first published in 2006, is a review of current theory and method in the reconstruction of populations from archaeological data. Starting with a summary of demographic concepts and methods, the book examines historical and ethnographic sources of demographic evidence before addressing the methods by which reliable demographic estimates can be made from skeletal remains, settlement evidence and modern and ancient biomolecules. Recent debates in palaeodemography are evaluated, new statistical methods for palaeodemographic reconstruction are explained, and the notion that past demographic structures and processes were substantially different from those pertaining today is critiqued. The book covers a wide span of evidence, from the evolutionary background of human demography to the influence of natural and human-induced catastrophes on population growth and survival. This is essential reading for any archaeologist or anthropologist with an interest in relating the results of field and laboratory studies to broader questions of population structure and dynamics.

Regional Settlement Demography in Archaeology

Regional Settlement Demography in Archaeology PDF

Author: C. Adam Berrey

Publisher: Eliot Werner Publications

Published: 2015-12-31

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 1733376976

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Archaeological analysis at the regional scale investigates the past by studying how people distributed themselves and their activities across a landscape of hundreds or thousands of square kilometers. Archaeological field survey methods developed over half a century combine with powerful new quantitative tools for spatial analysis (including GIS) to unleash new potential for identifying and studying ancient local communities and regional polities. Varied approaches to estimating regional population sizes in both relative and absolute terms are synthesized and their advantages and disadvantages assessed. Tools for quantitative analysis of regional demographic data are presented. Field survey methods developed around the world are compiled from widely scattered sources and best practices for collecting archaeological data to sustain demographic analysis are delineated. Concepts for improved sampling design in regional survey work are derived from fundamental statistical principles. In conclusion, promising directions for future methodological development are identified.

Demography in Archaeology

Demography in Archaeology PDF

Author: Andrew T. Chamberlain

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-07-06

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9780521593670

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Demography in Archaeology, first published in 2006, is a review of current theory and method in the reconstruction of populations from archaeological data. Starting with a summary of demographic concepts and methods, the book examines historical and ethnographic sources of demographic evidence before addressing the methods by which reliable demographic estimates can be made from skeletal remains, settlement evidence and modern and ancient biomolecules. Recent debates in palaeodemography are evaluated, new statistical methods for palaeodemographic reconstruction are explained, and the notion that past demographic structures and processes were substantially different from those pertaining today is critiqued. The book covers a wide span of evidence, from the evolutionary background of human demography to the influence of natural and human-induced catastrophes on population growth and survival. This is essential reading for any archaeologist or anthropologist with an interest in relating the results of field and laboratory studies to broader questions of population structure and dynamics.

Reconstructing Past Population Trends in Mediterranean Europe (3000 BC - AD 1800)

Reconstructing Past Population Trends in Mediterranean Europe (3000 BC - AD 1800) PDF

Author: John Bintliff

Publisher: Oxbow Books

Published: 2016-10-03

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 1785704737

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Archaeology of Populus Monograph in Archaeology of Mediterranean Landscapes Series. Population trends and demographics in general are discussed through a variety of case studies based in Mediterranean Europe. The range of archaeological techniques and methods of analysis includes regional field surveys, artifact scatter analysis, palaeoanthropology, historical and documentary sources, and studies of cemeteries.

Handbook of Palaeodemography

Handbook of Palaeodemography PDF

Author: Isabelle Séguy

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-08-27

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783319348148

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This book examines methods for linking osteo-archaeological data with historical and environmental sources to shed light on the living conditions of past populations. Covering all time periods from prehistory to the 20th century, it aims to construct models that capture plausible demographic dynamics from highly fragmentary evidence. Starting from the known in order to explore the unknown, this book presents a historical view of methods used in the past and present as well as proposes original ones. The paleodemographic methods presented in this handbook have been tested on anthropological and archaeological data and can easily be applied. This manual represents a fruitful collaboration between historical demographers and anthropological archaeologists who, with the help of mathematicians and statisticians, detail research that opens an important historical dimension to the discipline. Written in a readily understandable manner, it serves as an ideal resource for those wishing to interpret ancient bones in demographic terms.

Palaeolithic Europe

Palaeolithic Europe PDF

Author: Jennifer C. French

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-12-09

Total Pages: 723

ISBN-13: 110858411X

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In this book, Jennifer French presents a new synthesis of the archaeological, palaeoanthropological, and palaeogenetic records of the European Palaeolithic, adopting a unique demographic perspective on these first two-million years of European prehistory. Unlike prevailing narratives of demographic stasis, she emphasises the dynamism of Palaeolithic populations of both our evolutionary ancestors and members of our own species across four demographic stages, within a context of substantial Pleistocene climatic changes. Integrating evolutionary theory with a socially oriented approach to the Palaeolithic, French bridges biological and cultural factors, with a focus on women and children as the drivers of population change. She shows how, within the physiological constraints on fertility and mortality, social relationships provide the key to enduring demographic success. Through its demographic focus, French combines a 'big picture' perspective on human evolution with careful analysis of the day-to-day realities of European Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer communities—their families, their children, and their lives.

The Growth and Collapse of Pacific Island Societies

The Growth and Collapse of Pacific Island Societies PDF

Author: Patrick Vinton Kirch

Publisher: University of Hawaii Press

Published: 2007-04-30

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 0824831489

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Were there major population collapses on Pacific Islands following first contact with the West? If so, what were the actual population numbers for islands such as Hawai‘i, Tahiti, or New Caledonia? Is it possible to develop new methods for tracking the long-term histories of island populations? These and related questions are at the heart of this new book, which draws together cutting-edge research by archaeologists, ethnographers, and demographers. In their accounts of exploration, early European voyagers in the Pacific frequently described the teeming populations they encountered on island after island. Yet missionary censuses and later nineteenth-century records often indicate much smaller populations on Pacific Islands, leading many scholars to debunk the explorers’ figures as romantic exaggerations. Recently, the debate over the indigenous populations of the Pacific has intensified, and this book addresses the problem from new perspectives. Rather than rehash old data and arguments about the validity of explorers’ or missionaries’ accounts, the contributors to this volume offer a series of case studies grounded in new empirical data derived from original archaeological fieldwork and from archival historical research. Case studies are presented for the Hawaiian Islands, Mo‘orea, the Marquesas, Tonga, Samoa, the Tokelau Islands, New Caledonia, Aneityum (Vanuatu), and Kosrae.

Caribbean Paleodemography

Caribbean Paleodemography PDF

Author: L. Antonio Curet

Publisher: University of Alabama Press

Published: 2005-06-05

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 081735185X

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A high significant discussion of Caribbean archaeology and a fascinating introduction to paleodemography According to the European chronicles, at the time of contact, the Greater Antilles were inhabited by the Taino or Arawak Indians, who were organized in hierarchical societies. Since its inception Caribbean archaeology has used population as an important variable in explaining many social, political, and economic processes such as migration, changes in subsistence systems, and the development of institutionalized social stratification. In Caribbean Paleodemography, L. Antonio Curet argues that population has been used casually by Caribbean archaeologists and proposes more rigorous and promising ways in which demographic factors can be incorporated in our modeling of past human behavior. He analyzes a number of demographic issues in island archaeology at various levels of analysis, including inter- and intra-island migration, carrying capacity, population structures, variables in prehistory, cultural changes, and the relationship with material culture and social development. With this work, Curet brings together the diverse theories on Greater Antilles island populations and the social and political forces governing their growth and migration.