Demography and Roman SocietyHow 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. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Egyptian Evidence | 19 |
The Ulpianic Evidence | 27 |
Copyright | |
7 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
adult age and sex age at death age group ancient historians ancient Rome ancient world antiquity apparent Aristotle Aulus Gellius average life expectancy biases Boyaval breast-feeding Brunt calculated Canusium cemetery census centenarians century classes commemoration contraception corn dole customary table death rates decline demographic demography Diodorus Siculus discussed Duncan-Jones elite Éry expectancy at birth extent Eyben factors fertility levels Frier Frier's life table growth high mortality Hist Hombert and Préaux Hopkins increase individuals infant mortality infanticide Level 3 female literary live males marriage method model life tables mortality and fertility mortality levels mortality rates percent Pliny Plutarch probably problems reality recorded regard remains Roman Egypt Roman empire Roman society Romano-British Rome Saller sample sex ratio significant skeletons slave social Soranus sources stable population stationary population survive tality Tertullian tion tombstone inscriptions Ulpianic figures Ulpianic table wet nurse