Beyond germs : Native depopulation in North America

Cameron, Catherine M., (editor.). Kelton, Paul, (editor.). Swedlund, Alan C., (editor.).

Summary: "Beyond Germs challenges the "virgin soil" hypothesis that the massive depopulation of the New World was primarily caused by diseases brought by European colonists, which scholars used for decades to explain the decimation of the indigenous peoples of North America. Contributors argue that blaming germs downplays the active role of Europeans in inciting wars, destroying livelihoods, and erasing identities"--Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9780816535545
ISBN: 081653554X
ISBN: 9780816500246
ISBN: 081650024X
Physical Description: print
ix, 275 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
Edition: First paperback edition.
Publisher: Tucson : The University of Arizona Press, 2016.
Copyright: ©2015

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction / Paul Kelton, Alan C. Swedlund, and Catherine M. Cameron -- Death, uncertainty, and rhetoric / David S. Jones -- Population decline and culture change in the American midcontinent : bridging the prehistoric and historic divide / George R. Milner -- Colonialism and decline in the American southeast : the remarkable record of La Florida / Clark Spencer Larsen -- Beyond epidemics : a bioarchaeological perspective on Pueblo-Spanish encounters in the American southwest / Debra L. Martin -- Identity erasure and demographic impacts of the Spanish caste system on the indigenous populations of New Mexico / Gerardo Gutiérrez -- Contagion, conflict, and captivity in interior New England : Native American and European contacts in the middle Connecticut River valley of Massachusetts, 1616-2004 / Alan C. Swedlund -- The effects of warfare and captive-taking on indigenous mortality in postcontact North America / Catherine M. Cameron -- Remembering Cherokee mortality during the American Revolution / Paul Kelton -- Quality of life : native communities within and beyond the bounds of colonial institutions in California / Kathleen L. Hull -- The pestilent serpent : colonialism, health, and indigenous demographics / James F. Brooks.