ABSTRACT

This chapter examines how population growth and, to a lesser extent, population decline have been interpreted and how demographic studies have played a role in understanding cultural dynamics in the regioa because population movement has been important in such interpretation. It considers mobility as it pertains to studies of Plateau paleodemography. Prior to the development of a prehistoric time-scale, however, there could be little concept of population growth. Harold Sellers Colton found that the local curves peaked at different times, and he explained these differences by population movements due to such environmental factors as the eruption of Sunset Crater and the Great Drought. Patricia A. Gilman looked specifically at the shift from pithouses to pueblos as a response to population growth and correlated needs for changes in the organization of storage and food processing activities. The fineness of the temporal scale used in demographic studies has generally decreased through time, thus allowing the distinguishing of shorter term population changes.