Week 7: Slide (14) Evidence of Numbers Flashcards
Who calculated a pre-contact Indigenous population of 112 million in the Americas?
Henry F. Dobyns.
Which epidemics were recorded by Spaniards in the 1500s that affected indigenous populations?
Typhus, influenza, smallpox, diphtheria, and measles.
What was the significance of George Vancouver’s records in understanding pre-contact populations?
His records provided evidence of depopulation along the Pacific Coast before significant European contact.
True or False: Dobyns’ population estimate was based on high averages rather than lows.
False. Dobyns argued that old calculations were based on lows, not averages.
Why is Dobyns’ population estimate considered revolutionary in anthropology?
It challenged previous low estimates and highlighted the massive impact of disease on indigenous populations.
What type of impact did early European epidemics have on indigenous populations?
Catastrophic; diseases decimated large portions of indigenous populations.
Which explorer’s records provided additional evidence of pre-contact indigenous depopulation along the coast?
George Vancouver.
How did Dobyns’ work change perceptions of indigenous populations before European arrival?
It suggested that Indigenous populations were much larger than previously believed, challenging the idea of an “empty” New World.
What common misconception did Dobyns’ population estimate help to dispel about pre-contact Americas?
That the Americas were sparsely populated before European contact.
