Seeds of Change, the phrase developed by the national museum to commemorate the Columbian Quincentenary, took on meaning though symposia, exhibitions, and edited volumes devoted to exploring aspects of the Columbian experience. Conceived to refer to plants, animals, and diseases brought to the New World, these seeds, once introduced, sent “ripples around the globe affecting the people as well as the flora and fauna of both the New World and the Old” (p. ix). This volume, part of the larger project, evolved from a two-day symposium held at the Smithsonian in the fall of 1989. Itself a commemorative Quincentenary seed planted by the Smithsonian, it represents one of those Columbian seeds of change that had far-reaching consequences.
The general goal of the volume is to provide a scholarly review of extant knowledge about prehistoric and historic health, disease, and demography of native populations. The structure of the volume reflects its title; accordingly, it comprises two major sections. The first focuses largely on evaluating morbidity and mortality through skeletal biology and paleopathology. Although documents are employed, they play a minor role. The second section concentrates on population size. Given the importance of documents in estimating population size, the temporal focus of this section is the historic period.
In addition to two summaries by Aufenheide and Crosby, there are 12 papers in the first section (Ortner, Verano, Larsen et al., Powell, Stodder and Martin, Owsley, Buikstra, Milner, Saunders et al., Walker and Johnson, Carlson et al., Bogdan and Weaver) and 11 in the second (Ubelaker, Snow, Thornton et al., Meggers, Cook, Dobyns, Upham, Kiple and Higgins, Boyd, Trimble, Reff). The spatial focus ranges from the Great Lakes to the Andes. The editors have made a concerted effort to be exhaustive in their coverage, incorporating as much contemporary thought as possible.
The question tackled by the skeletal biologists is whether or not the Americas were a “disease-free paradise” before European discovery. Not surprisingly, the presenters decimate that assumption. The evidence, on the continental scale, is overwhelming. Before the diffusion of acute, epidemic diseases, Native Americans suffered from a range of infections. Although the severity of these infections varied, health was clearly compromised; this status may partially explain the great numbers of deaths that occurred in the wake of introduced infections.
In the second section the issues are native population sizes at the contact boundary and the magnitude of decline that followed. The timing and role of infectious disease introduction looms large in these discussions. Disease, population size, and decline are contentious topics, and the editors make no bones about it. Rather than reaching consensus or presenting a single view, the goal is to “clarify issues and logic . . . and point . . . toward greater understanding” (p. 2). Future scholarship on contact populations and disease will tell whether or not understanding has resulted.
Despite varying quality and detail, the volume is successful. The editors wanted to cover the field, and they have largely done that. Indeed, a major strength here is the diversity of topics and areas and the inclusion of most major researchers on native demographics and disease. The volume is a useful introduction to the field and a reference for specialists.
