Archaeological demography

Human Biology
Andrew Chamberlain

Abstract

Archaeological demography investigates the structure and dynamics of past human populations using evidence from traces of human activities and remnants of material culture in the archaeological record. Research in this field is interdisciplinary, incorporating findings from anthropology, paleogenetics, and human ecology but with a remit that extends beyond the primarily biological focus of paleodemography. Important questions addressed by archaeological demography include the establishment of methods for inferring past population structure, the timing of the emergence of modern human demographic systems, the relative importance of attritional and catastrophic patterns of mortality, and the search for adaptive explanations for demographic transitions, colonization events, and population extinctions. Archaeological evidence, including the extent of settlements and site catchment areas as well as measures of the exploitation, consumption, and discard of materials and artifacts, have traditionally been used as proxies for estimating past population size and density. In recent years this evidence has been supplemented by increasingly large data sets compiled from radiocarbon dating programs. These data sets have been used to investi...Continue Reading

Citations

Feb 16, 2011·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Felix Riede
May 14, 2011·Molecular Ecology Resources·Nicolas Ray, Laurent Excoffier
Jul 16, 2015·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Pier Francesco FabbriRoberto Cameriere
Mar 29, 2012·Human Biology·Ron Pinhasi, Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel
Jul 7, 2017·Royal Society Open Science·Randall HaasJames T Watson
Dec 1, 2020·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Jennifer C French, Andrew T Chamberlain
Dec 1, 2020·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Victor LundströmFelix Riede
Feb 23, 2021·Royal Society Open Science·Salvador Herrando-Pérez
May 1, 2021·Nature Communications·Corey J A BradshawFrédérik Saltré

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