Historical Demography Data

I am pleased to see that, for those interested in historical demography, there appears to be no small number of organizations and websites with various levels of population statistics throughout the world.  For those interested in general trends the world over, there is the Populations Statistics website of Jan Lahmeyer.  This site breaks down the population levels of various nations throughout the world by administrative division and municipalities, along with some general data about individuals countries and, in the case of the US, individual states.  I'll be reviewing and linking to a number of other historical demography sites in the days to come.

The Irish Isonymy Project

For an example of how to conduct a multidimensional project in isonymy, have a look at the Irish Isonymy Project of Don MacRaild and Malcolm Smith.  The main focus of the project is the use of random isonymy to track 19th century Irish migration into Britain.  One particularly interesting sub project is their exploration of the use of first names as a research tool.  Naturally, first names don't track genetic trends, but they can be used to measure cultural trends (such as the spread of non-Irish first names among the population of Ireland).

It is this last aspect of the Irish Isonymy Project which leads into a particular line of questions I've had for isonymy research in general.  Ever since its inception, surnames have been vetted as a neutral marker for population studies.  But are there situations in which selective pressure should be taken into account?  I will be exploring this topic in posts to come.

Community Archaeology Program

One of the intereting things about working at PAF is the relative prominance an archaeological organization can have within the community.  Much of this stems from our various community outreach programs.  One of our strongest by far is the Community Archaeology Program, which allows children and adults to participate in laboratory and field excavations during the summer season.  The website has a wealth of information for anyone interested, and a facebook page has just been added.

What is an archive?

The essence of biohistorical research is the archive.  Despite the fact that the word archive tends to conjure up images of dusty, basement shelves filled with books and ledgers, the term can mean a great number of things for our research purposes.  Below, I have written a by no means exhaustive list of potential sources of archival data;

 

Government documents (censuses, marriage records, vital statistics, military anthropometric records)

Privately published documents (19^th century directories, phonebooks)

Personal records (family genealogies)

Unpublished data from previous anthropological fieldwork (including photographs, ethnographic data)

Compendiums of comparative ethnographic data (HRAF)

Online records of gene frequency data (ALFRED and HapMap)

Blood serum samples

Tissue samples

Archived cell lines

Flood and Earthquake

Taking a break from the usual posts today.  It is always a bit disconcerting when your hometown makes the national headlines due to a disaster, or even the potential for one.  This was the case in 2006, when the Susquehanna River crept to within about 6 blocks of my house.  Fortunately, for now the danger for flooding appears to receding.  Unfortunately, this has all been dwarfed by the horror of what is happening in Japan.  The 8.9 earthquake, the worst in recorded history for the nation, combined with 6.0 aftershocks.  CNN and the BBC have been running real-time coverage all day. 

For my part, I recommend supporting two organizations that have a proven track record in these situations, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Doctors without Borders.  Just spend five minutes looking at some of the devestation online and you will see what will be required in the comming weeks and months.

1000 year old canoe excavated in Florida

The Saint-Petersburg Times has a video of the excavation of a 1000 year old canoe on Weedon Island, Florida.  The fact that the canoe survived to the extent that it did in the salt-water environment of the island is quite remarkable.  The clip gives a respectable amount of screen time to the archaeologists, as well as the cultural context of the find.

The Binghamton Neighborhood Project

Today I wanted to quickly highlight a major project undertaken by my former advison, David Sloan Wilson.  The Binghamton Neighborhood Project is a multidisciplinary academic and community effort to understand the culture and ecology of urban living in the city of Binghamton, New York.  The goal is not just to study but to improve the quality of life within the city.  In many ways, my own research into the historical demography of the Southern Tier grew out of a desire to add a historical dimension to the project.