On the estimation of some demographic characteristics on a prehistoric population from the American Southwest

Abstract

Abstract After a general discussion of some of the limitations and assumptions inherent in paleodemographic studies, a method for the estimation of average life expectancy when only deaths by age are known is described and applied to the remains from Point of Pines, a prehistoric Western Pueblo population from the American Southwest. It was found that the method was not applicable to these data in its entirety, since there were considerable differences in mortality shapes between this prehistoric group and those summarized in the U. N. Model Life Tables. It is suggested that a range of average life expectancy can be calculated when the intrinsic rates of natural increase vary, and these are given for the Point of Pines data.