The size of the population of the Americas before European contact was once a topic of intense debate. For the past decade or so, however, it has been regarded as settled, and estimates on the order of 50 to one 100 million people have been accepted as proven. David Henige’s book questions if this should be the case. In fact, the book not only takes issue with current estimates but attempts to argue that the contact population is, in fact, unknowable on the basis of the currently available evidence.
Henige’s basic point is excellent. Most of the current estimates have been derived from an extrapolation based on rather dicey figures taken from less-than-reliable sources. In reminding us that these estimates are actually built on flimsy presuppositions that often involve circular reasoning, the author has provided a much-needed reality check for this field.
Unfortunately, his argument suffers from overkill. Henige is...
