ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part focuses on documents from the early historic period, whereas Kintigh and Snow make substantial use of archaeological data and remain largely within prehistoric times. It provides equal time to prehistoric and historic times, archaeological data and documents and an interesting perspective on dietary continuity between prehistoric and historic lifeways. The part argues that population sizes were substantial in late prehistoric times and that diseases caused a rapid decline of population in the Rio Sonora area that can account for differences in the reports of the earliest Spanish visitors and those of priests that came to establish missions nearly a century later. It reviews the archaeological data from the Hohokam area of southern Arizona and also provides an interesting example of demographic change far to the north in the western Pueblo area.
