Why did the number of Indians living in Mesoamerica decline from about 30 million in the fifteenth century?
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journal article Show Annals of the Association of American Geographers Vol. 81, No. 3 (Sep., 1991) , pp. 464-487 (24 pages) Published By: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2563876 Read and download Log in through your school or library Subscribe to JPASS Unlimited reading + 10 downloads Monthly Plan
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Abstract Within 100 years after the Spanish conquest, the Amerindian population of the New World was reduced to a small fraction of its former size. While the fact of this depopulation is not seriously disputed, virtually everything else about it is (e.g., the size of the pre-Colombian population, the scale of its decline, and the relative importance of various causes). These questions are examined using a system dynamics computer simulation methodology applied to a case study in the sixteenth-century Basin of Mexico. This method simulates the demographic response of a population to the web of causal factors that determine population size. These factors constitute a structured cultural ecology of the Amerindian population, and include demographic, epidemiological, cultural/social, and productive aspects of the Basin's population system. The results of these simulations indicate that: (1) very large depopulation was possible given reasonable assumptions as to cause; (2) the overall scale of depopulation was profound-nearly 90 percent over the course of 100 years-from more than 1.5 million in 1519 to less than 200,000 by 1610; (3) the temporal pattern of depopulation formed an irregular, step-like pattern and most of the population loss occurred in the first fifty years of Spanish occupance; (4) this decline was primarily due to a series of "virgin soil" epidemic crises, although famine was also important; and (5) there is no need to presume an Amerindian population genetically less able to resist disease, nor is it necessary to presume Spanish cruelty to explain this holocaust. This study provides independent support for previous studies that posit a catastrophic population collapse in the sixteenth century and refutes arguments for either a more extreme collapse or a lesser decline. By methodologically connecting the causes of the population decline with the results (the population statistics), it illuminates debate over the relative importance of different proposed causes. Journal Information The Annals of the American Association of Geographers is one of the world’s foremost geography journals. It has been published since 1911 and currently has an Impact Factor of 2.799, ranking 8th out of 79 geography journals worldwide. The Annals contains original, timely, and innovative articles that advance knowledge in all facets of the discipline. Articles are divided into four major areas: Geographic Methods; Human Geography; Nature and Society; and Physical Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. There are Editors responsible for each these themes. The Annals is published six times a year (January, March, May, July, September and November). One issue per year is a dedicated Special Issue drawing a diversity of papers from across the discipline under a single theme. Following tradition, the annual Presidential Address is published in Annals; Memorials for former AAG Presidents and exceptionally distinguished geographers are also published. Publisher Information Building on two centuries' experience, Taylor & Francis has grown rapidlyover the last two decades to become a leading international academic publisher.The Group publishes over 800 journals and over 1,800 new books each year, coveringa wide variety of subject areas and incorporating the journal imprints of Routledge,Carfax, Spon Press, Psychology Press, Martin Dunitz, and Taylor & Francis.Taylor & Francis is fully committed to the publication and dissemination of scholarly information of the highest quality, and today this remains the primary goal. Rights & Usage This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. journal article Native American Demographic and Tribal Survival into the Twenty-first CenturyAmerican Studies Vol. 46, No. 3/4, Indigeneity at the Crossroads of American Studies (Indigenous Studies Today, Issue 1, Fall 2005/Spring 2006) (Fall/Winter 2005) , pp. 23-38 (16 pages) Published By: Mid-America American Studies Association https://www.jstor.org/stable/40643888 Read and download Log in through your school or library With a personal account, you can read up to 100 articles each month for free. Get StartedAlready have an account? Log in Monthly Plan
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Journal Information American Studies is a quarterly interdisciplinary journal sponsored by the Mid-America American Studies Association, the University of Kansas, and the Hall Center for the Humanities. With an editorial staff from a number of areas of study, the journal offers provocative perspectives on a variety of issues. Frequent special sections and special issues create a space for a broad discussion on a single topic. Articles on pedagogy inform the American studies classroom. The book review section aims at keeping readers conversant with contemporary scholarship. American Studies first appeared in 1959, and has 1,100 current subscribers much of it international. In 2005 it merged with American Studies International, and welcomes submissions with an international perspective. Publisher Information The Mid-America American Studies Association is the regional chapter of the American Studies Association that serves institutions and individuals in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. It works for and with graduate students, faculty members, community members, and independent scholars interested in the study of American culture. It is affiliated with the journal American Studies and hosts yearly conferences to facilitate conversation and scholarship in American Studies and related fields. Rights & Usage This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. Why did Native American population decrease?Both archaeological and historical records indicate that European contact and colonialism initiated a significant reduction in the indigenous population size through warfare, enslavement, societal disruption, and especially widespread epidemic disease (1–3), although the magnitude of population decline remains in ...
What was the primary reason that the Native American populations in North America declined by 90 percent after 1500 CE?What was the primary reason that the Native American populations in North America declined by 90 percent after 1500 CE? Native Americans succumbed to European diseases and disruption.
What happened to the Native American population?Between 1492 and 1600, 90% of the indigenous populations in the Americas had died. That means about 55 million people perished because of violence and never-before-seen pathogens like smallpox, measles, and influenza.
How many Native American tribes were there in 1492?The People. In 1492 the native population of North America north of the Rio Grande was seven million to ten million. These people grouped themselves into approximately six hundred tribes and spoke diverse dialects.
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