Death, sex, and fertility : population regulation in preindustrial and developing societies
Bibliographie
- Auteurs : Harris Marvin (1927-) ; Ross Eric B. ;
- Editeurs : New York Columbia University Press ;
- Date d'édition : 1987
- ISBN : 0-231-06270-2
- Sujets : Anthropologie démographique, Fertilité humaine, Régulation des naissances
- Langue(s) : Anglais
- Description matérielle : 1 vol. (227 p.), 24 cm
- Pays de publication : États-Unis
- Fonds spécifique : Cadist
Notes
Bibliographie p. [185]-209. Index
Résumé
Le revers de la jaquette indique: 'In this controversial examination of human fertility, anthropologists Marvin Harris and Eric B. Ross examine the social and biological aspects of reproductive control from paleolithic times to the present. They argue persuasively that population control has long been an intrinsic part of human adaptation, principally through behavior - such as infanticide - that adversely affects infant and female mortality. Analyzing data from hunter-gatherers, preindustrial agriculturalists, early states, and Europe from the Greco-Roman period through the industrial revolution, the authors combine anthropological and demographic perspectives to present a consistent and provocative theory of population growth and fertility. In a far-reaching examination of factors influencing fertility rates, they determine that preindustrial cultural means of population control, relying heavily on control of mortality, were probably much more effective than previously credited. They suggest that this has considerable import for contemporary demographic debate, especially as it concerns the Third World. The final chapter criticizes current U.S. population policy, which the authors describe as 'free market demographics', and its implication for developing societies. They suggest that, in the absence of effective contraception or abortion, population will be controlled nonetheless, but through more wasteful and destructive patterns of human mortality. With evidence spanning the course of human history and drawn from many cultures, Harris and Ross challenge conventional views of population regulation and urge responsible measures to prevent unwanted births, which would harmonize fertility more humanely with economic and social needs.'