Demography and Roman society
By: Tim G. Parkin.
Series: Ancient society and history
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 1992
Place of publication: Baltimore, Md
Language: eng
Number of pages: 225
Subjects: Demography -- Rome -- History; Rome -- Population -- History
Description: How long did ancient Romans live? What were the leading causes of death? At what age did they marry? What percentage of the infant mortality rate was due to infanticide? Did the Romans themselves keep accurate statistics? Previous attempts to answer such questions have often proved unconvincing - in part because historians lacked the detailed knowledge of demography needed for such investigations. In Demography and Roman Society Tim Parkin shows how modern demographic tools and techniques can be used to shed new light on the study of ancient society. In Part One Parkin shows how the ancient evidence - from inscriptions on Roman tombstones to the skeletons themselves - cannot be used to provide reliable data on such demographic issues as population distribution by age, geographical location, class, and sex. In Part Two he presents an overview of modern demographic methods and models. Part Three draws some general conclusions about life in the Roman world based on demographic analysis, including mortality, fertility, marriage, contraception, and abortion.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-217) and index.