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Darrera modificació: 2021-09-10
Bases de dades: Sciència.cat
Jones, Terry L. - Schwitalla, Al W. - Pilloud, Marin A. - Johnson, John R. - Paine, Richard R. - Codding, Brian F., "Historic and bioarchaeological evidence supports late onset of post-Columbian epidemics in Native California", PNAS, 118/28 (2021), e2024802118 (publicació electrònica).
- Resum
- Significance
The idea of precipitous continent-wide population decline beginning ca. 1492 has long influenced ecological and social narratives of North America. We analyze the largest systematic dataset of mortality records (n = 33,715 individuals) yet compiled across North America coupling archaeological and historic data to evaluate the nature and timing of Indigenous depopulation in what is now called central California. Findings indicate that mortality risk consistent with a plague-like age-at-death structure began after sustained contact with European invaders ca. AD 1770, suggesting that major depopulation began relatively late in this and possibly other isolated regions of North America. Our analysis does not support a "rebound" in native flora and fauna as a consequence of hypothesized epidemics before the first colonial settlements.
Abstract
Catastrophic decline of Indigenous populations in the Americas following European contact is one of the most severe demographic events in the history of humanity, but uncertainty persists about the timing and scale of the collapse, which has implications for not only Indigenous history but also the understanding of historical ecology. A long-standing hypothesis that a continent-wide pandemic broke out immediately upon the arrival of Spanish seafarers has been challenged in recent years by a model of regional epidemics erupting asynchronously, causing different rates of population decline in different areas. Some researchers have suggested that, in California, significant depopulation occurred during the first two centuries of the post-Columbus era, which led to a “rebound” in native flora and fauna by the time of sustained European contact after 1769. Here, we combine a comprehensive prehistoric osteological dataset (n = 10,256 individuals) with historic mission mortuary records (n = 23,459 individuals) that together span from 3050 cal BC to AD 1870 to systematically evaluate changes in mortality over time by constructing life tables and conducting survival analysis of age-at-death records. Results show that a dramatic shift in the shape of mortality risk consistent with a plague-like population structure began only after sustained contact with European invaders, when permanent Spanish settlements and missions were established ca. AD 1770. These declines reflect the syndemic effects of newly introduced diseases and the severe cultural disruption of Indigenous lifeways by the Spanish colonial system
- Matèries
- Medicina - Pesta i altres malalties
Arqueologia
- URL
- https://www.pnas.org/content/118/28/e2024802118
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