ABSTRACT
Images of an increased number of people through time, implying ever-increasing ‘control’ over their environment, are embedded in many interpretations of prehistory. Such ideas have been presented as graphs of estimated total population, usually with a consistent non-linear increase that is interpreted as a relentless, ever faster growth of population size and density. Such visions of simple uninterrupted, unidirectional population rise have been invoked by researchers discussing the demographic pre-history of humans in Australia (Figure 12.1A).
