Demography Part 1: Mortality and Migration

Gage, Timothy B.; DeWitte, Sharon N.; Wood, James W.

doi:10.1002/9781118108062.ch14

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 119 publications

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“…based on socioeconomic status, occupation, engagement in risky behaviors, etc.) (Gage et al, ). Importantly, the majority of human populations that have ever existed were small, so understanding small population demography is crucial for understanding our shared history and the forces that have shaped the variation in human biology and culture that we can observe today.…”

Section: Problems With Demographic Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Population models (of the relationships among, mortality, fertility, migration, and the age structure of a population) allow for the indirect estimation of demographic rates and have been applied in demographic anthropology to deal with the limitations of small samples and incomplete data (Gage et al, ). Demographic anthropologists most often use stable and stationary population models.…”

Section: Potential Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If a population is stable, a census taken at two points in time provides the information needed to estimate a life table (see description below). The application of the stable population model is generally reasonable, because populations naturally tend toward stable age distributions (Coale, ; Gage et al, ; Lopez, ; Wood, Holman, O'connor, & Ferrell, ). In the absence of the information needed to estimate r , researchers apply the stationary population model, which includes all the characteristics of a stable population with the added restriction of zero growth (i.e.…”

Section: Potential Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…r = 0.0). If a population is assumed to be stationary, a life table can be computed from a cemetery age‐at‐death distribution or a single ethnographic census (Gage et al, ).…”

Section: Potential Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These demographic phenomena lie at the very heart of evolution. Natural selection occurs as a result of differential fertility and mortality within a population; gene flow occurs because of migration between populations; and the effects of genetic drift are dependent upon population size, which is an outcome of the interactions among mortality, fertility, and migration (Gage, DeWitte, & Wood, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Demographic anthropology

DeWitte

2018

American J Phys Anthropol

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K E Y W O R D S : enthnographic census, life tables, paleodemography, population models 1 | I N TR ODU C TI ON Demography is the study of population dynamics. The primary foci of demography are rates and levels of mortality, fertility, and migration and how these all interact to produce population growth (or decline), density, and age-and sex-structures; how these rates or levels vary across time and space and what produces such variation; and what consequences these have on other aspects of human (or nonhuman) existence. These demographic phenomena lie at the very heart of evolution. Natural selection occurs as a result of differential fertility and mortality within a population; gene flow occurs because of migration between populations; and the effects of genetic drift are dependent upon population size, which is an outcome of the interactions among mortality, fertility, and migration (Gage, DeWitte, & Wood, 2012).These demographic forces also affect, are affected by, and reflect many of the things that anthropologists find most interesting. For example, the age-sex structure of a population influences the population's ratio of consumers to producers and numbers of potential marriage partners, and thus places limits on such things as subsistence strategies and household structure. The age-sex structure of a population can also significantly influence economic relationships among families and communities, as cultures often have inheritance and habitation rules that depend on the sex and sometimes age of individuals, and thus are inherently influenced strongly by demographic structure. Population growth and density affect socio-political structures and shape disease ecologies, which can, in turn, affect demographic rates and drive biological and cultural adaptations. Sociocultural phenomena also have the potential to powerfully shape demography. For example, warfare can have short-and long-term effects on sex ratios or age structures (as in the case of the post-World War II baby boom). Sexselective infanticide and abortion, and withholding of resources or medical care from daughters because of cultural preferences for sons affects sex ratios. Economic policies and warfare influence patterns of migration. Ultimately, demography is relevant to all fields of anthropology, whether or not all anthropologists are interested in demography itself and its effects on other aspects of human life. Although, as can be seen in the pages of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, numerous anthropologists over the last 100 years of the journal's existence have been explicitly interested in demography, and in demographic anthropology in particular. In contrast to national demography, which primarily focuses on large datasets (often derived from censuses) from European and other industrialized populations, demographic anthropology typically focuses on relatively small, nonindustrial populations from which data are collected as a part of ethnographic fieldwork. Demographic anthropology also examines the demography of populat...

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Section: Problems With Demographic Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Potential Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Potential Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…r = 0.0). If a population is assumed to be stationary, a life table can be computed from a cemetery age‐at‐death distribution or a single ethnographic census (Gage et al, ).…”

Section: Potential Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Demographic anthropology

DeWitte

2018

American J Phys Anthropol

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The Current State of Knowledge on the Industrial Epidemiologic Transition

Gage

2014

Modern Environments and Human Health

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Paleodemography

Witte

2018

The International Encyclopedia of Biological Anthropology

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Paleodemography is the study of human population patterns in the past using skeletal samples excavated from archaeological sites. Paleodemographic reconstructions are crucial for understanding the causes and consequences of shifts in subsistence strategies, changes in environmental conditions, increased social complexity, colonial contact, and many other phenomena of interest to anthropologists. The skeletal samples and the data they provide are, however, imperfect representations of living populations. This entry summarizes the fundamental analytical and methodological issues associated with the field and the ways in which paleodemographers contend with them in order to make meaningful statements about life in the past from biased samples of the dead.

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Demography Part 1: Mortality and Migration

Cited by 10 publications

References 119 publications

Demographic anthropology

Demographic anthropology

The Current State of Knowledge on the Industrial Epidemiologic Transition

Paleodemography

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