Demographic Estimation: Indirect Techniques for Anthropological Populations

Gage, Timothy B.

doi:10.1002/9781444320039.ch10

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Life expectancy as a function of survival has also been used in many studies. Through paleodemography, population parameters can be generated to examine trends in morbidity and mortality by age group (Gage 2010 ).…”

Section: Age At Death and Life Table Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioarchaeology of Populations: Understanding Adaptation and Resilience

Martin

Harrod

Pérez

2013

Manuals in Archaeological Method, Theory and Technique

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Human remains represent a uniquely rich data set for a wide range of research questions having to do with the origins and evolution of disease and the limits of adaptability to changing environmental and cultural conditions. Being able to say something about the lived experience and untimely death of individuals who lived in different time periods in faraway lands provides snapshots of historical moments that are invaluable. For example, a recent volume entitled Bioarchaeology of Individuals demonstrated the value of applying the interdisciplinary methods of bioarchaeology to persons of interest in the archaeological record (Stodder and Palkovich 2012 ). The previous chapter provided an overview of how individual identities and social personas are pieced together from a wide variety of skeletal and dental indicators.Putting individuals who lived (and died) together presents an entirely different and useful way of examining the past. The population-level analysis permits researchers to see patterns and trends at the larger aggregate level. It is only through a population-level analysis that differences in health, activity, trauma, or other indicators of stress can be examined by demographics (age and sex), through time, and by region. This type of analysis allows researchers to ask questions such as: In this population, did females work harder than age-matched males? What is the frequency of nutritional anemia in the children who died before the age of 6? What causes certain individuals by age, sex, region, or social status to die younger than others?The passage of NAGPRA and NAGPRA-like initiatives in other countries provides an opportunity for the descendants of indigenous people to participate in designing research projects that can answer questions about the state of their ancestor's lives (Silliman 2008 ). But, there is tremendous diversity in what descendants may want to know (or not know) about their ancestors. Bioarchaeologists need to be prepared to be told that their desire to collect data from ancestral bones is not of interest or value to descendants. Given this reality, researchers should understand how to make their research have value or be of interest to these communities. For example, population-level analyses have revealed important aspects of resilience during periods of enormous change, and these fi ndings are helpful in correcting

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Section: Age At Death and Life Table Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%