By means of an innovative methodology, the author attempts to estimate the size of the aboriginal population of the Americas at the time of the first contact with the Europeans. He traces the catastrophic loss of over 90 percent of that population and compares the experience of coastal region with Andean highlands.
Contents
List of tables, figures and maps; Preface; Introduction: the problem in perspective; Part I. Peru's Preconquest Population: 1. The ecological approach; 2. Population and archaeology; 3. Depopulation ratios; 4. Estimates from social organization; 5. Disease mortality models; 6. Census projections; 7. Conclusion; Part II. Demographic Collapse: 8. First contact: north coast; 9. Center of Spanish control: middle coast; 10. Disease, earthquakes, and droughts: south coast; 11. Intermediate area: northern highlands; 12. Mining and population in the central sierra; 13. The Indian heartland: southern highlands; 14. An overview; Abbreviations used in notes; Notes; Bibliography; Index.
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