New approaches to the pre‐ and post‐contact history of Arctic peoples

Abstract

Abstract The last few years have witnessed the addition of new techniques and research strategies to the study of the population history of Arctic peoples. Osteon‐photon analysis of bone cores provides an improved method of assigning age at death to skeletons. Consequently, it is possible to improve calculations of life expectancy and relate them to pathological correlates such as osteoporosis, separate neural arches, spina bifida and arthritis along with regular growth changes. This capability enables much better utilization of pre‐contact skeletons and therefore of the numbers, density and composition of populations before European contact. The general picture emerging from skeletal studies, census records and living populations is, in Arctic Eskimos, one of high fertility, high mortality and short length of life, with a slow population growth rate. Aleuts show lower fertility, lower mortality and longer length of life, also with a low population growth rate.