Population Data Sources
Prehistorical:
a. archeological remains. Household sites. Garbage dumps. Density of seeds. etc.
b. skeletal remains.
Sex determination of skeletal remains. Subadults-eruption
of mandibular teeth, dental maturation, anterior dentition. Adults-sexual
dimorphism. Pelvic morphology. Cranial morphology.
Age determination of skeletal remains. Subadults-Dental calcification and development
(Crown root). Long bone growth. Dental eruption. Dental calcification
maxillary/ mandibular. Root resorption. Epiphyseal closure.
Adults-Os Pubis. Osteon count. Cranial suture closure. Dental attrition.
Osteoarthritis. Determination of births. Partuitional pits. Race-descriptive morphology.
Forensic pathology.
Gravestones/stele.
Assumptions of stationary population (see Lecture 1).
Historical:
People long have known human numbers affect social institutions and
the quality of daily-life. Information on the population and resources
is required, so that rational planning and decision-making in running
the various institutions in meeting demands for and supply of commodities
and luxuries, resources, and services under systems of imperialism, manorialism,
feudalism, and capitalism. Military and civil leaders have wanted to know
how many people lived in their domains. They needed such information to
assess available manpower for conducting military campaigns,
conscript labor for working on highways, building canals, public works,
pyramids, temples, churches, and arenas. They wanted to identify how many
different religious and ethnic groups lived in their domain to assess sources
of political instability. They wanted to know how much property each household
had, what kinds of animal, mineral, vegetation resources were available as
sources of taxation to support the state and church in consumptions of daily
goods as well as financing military campaigns.
a. censuses (enumerations) and surveys
Earlier censuses provide information for authorities in planning responses
to shifts in social and economic conditions or to changes in political or
military fortunes. They were sporadic; suffered from incomplete coverage of
populations covered (i.e., limited to adults, heads of households, males
of military age, potential taxpayers, and generally excluded females and
children); and obtained results of questionable accuracy, since the use
of statistics was more often to exploit the individual than to benefit him.
We know that censuses of population were administered in the ancient
civilizations of Egypt, Babylonia, and India.
For history of Census in India see
History of Census in India
The Samarians counted citizens for the purposes of taxation.
Egyptians conducted inquiries into the occupations of the people.
In India literature indicates that in northern Hindustan, King Asoka,
between 270 and 230 BC, issued a census.
In China under Zhou dynasty 1027 to 256 B.C. population census cities
and registrations had become normal instruments of public administration of the
intent of the census cities was to evaluate the number of persons available for
the army and for taxation.
Chinese History Set of links developed at Washington State University
Shards and turtle shell artifacts have been examined from later Han Dynasty in China
that indicate census were taken for the purposes of taxation, conscripted labor,
and military draft by feudal leaders dynastic or provincial warlords.
Japan used census and family registers (koseki).
For history of Japanese Census see
History of Japanese Census
Greek historians recount the use of enumerations for
selecting representatives from demes to serve in the Greek boule, prytane, and
ecclessia of the senates in various city-states.
In Rome a census was administered to adult male citizens for the purposes of
assessing property and calculating rates of taxation, ascertaining who was
eligible for military service, and determining the individual’s political status.
In Rome for some 800 years, a census was administered every five years.
This practice was extended to the entire Roman Empire by 5 BC.
Check Old Testament link on references on surveys and enumerations.
Biblical References on Censuses and Surveys
In the 7th century AD the Prophet Mohammed led his followers to Medina (in Saudia Arabia).
After establishing a city-state, one of the first tasks was to conduct a written census
of the entire Moslem population in the city. The return showed a total of 1500 persons.
In 758 AD, Pepin the Short, king of the Franks first of Carlovingian
inventoried church lands and enumerated the serfs.
Under Charlemagne in 762 A. D. a list of all males of military age was taken in the empire.
For a quick overview on British kings and monarchs, see
British kings and Monarchs-Britannia listing
William of Normandy was greedy. He conducted a household survey in 1086. He ordered
an enumeration of all landed wealth and newly conquered territory to determine
how much revenue the landowner possessed. These data were recorded in the
Domesday Book. The census document was an enumeration of hearths or household heads
and their wealth rather than individuals.
With many enumerations of household to estimate population size, one multiplies
numbers of households by an estimated average numbers of persons per household
to yield estimated population size. This technique was used for specific countries
as well as to generate an estimate of world population size.
More than 300,000 households were identified so if one uses a household
size of five persons as typical than the population of England was
approximately 1.5 million persons.
The transition from feudalism, manorialism, early industrialization, feudal town and cities
and development of modern capitalism to a more mature system industrialization,
modern cities, and rise of nation states saw an emphasis on fact gathering.
b. tax lists
In the 14th century in Europe rulers were concerned with the
availability of wealth among the population, in the Italian cities (Venice and
Floretine) it was commonly practiced to take tax rolls or tax lists (castastos).
These lists are particularly useful since they asked for wealth of the household
and individual data on eachhousehold member. Estimates of population size may be
generated as well as the Gini Index on distribution of wealth.
c. muster lists
Enlistment rolls have information on age, sex, race, ethnicity, income,
occupation, and place of residence.
In Nuremberg in 1449 Every man, woman, and child was counted to assess whether the food
supply was sufficient to care for the population which was under siege.
d. manorial inventories
Morris Bishop.The Middle Ages. Houghton Mifflin. 1968.pp. 209-212.
discusses the nature of record-keeping on the manor under a system of
feudalism and the roles of the seneschal, the bailiff, and
cottar.
Monks of the Cistercian order kept detailed record on agricultural production,
crop rotation, iron ore production, wine and beer production, textile, grains
milled, banking records, mine output, and armament production.
f. ecclesiastical records
Vital events have been recorded by ecclesiastical
authorities: baptisms, burials, and weddings, were traced rather than births,
deaths, and marriages as our typically gathered nowadays. Parish records have
been used by historical demographers to analyze aggregate lists as well as to engage in
family reconstitution. The ecclesiastical registration has been used in Japan as
early as 720 and in Spain 1450. In France deaths and marriages were registered in
selected sections such as Burgundy as early 1406 and records were also kept by
the bishop of Nantes.
Modern:
a. censuses
A census is a nationwide counting or enumeration of all persons present in a country.
It is usually taken by the government and administered in a particular year. Some
countries take a census every five years, others every ten years, and still others
less regularly.
Characteristics of census: (1) should be administered by the government (2) conducted
on population of strictly defined territory (3) universal headcount of every individual
within specified territory with omission or duplication (4) simultaneous administration
(5) administered at regular intervals.
In 1665 in New France now call Canada a census was taken; it asked for
information on age, sex, marital status and occupation on the residents
The first modern systematic census was administered in Sweden beginning and 1749.
A combined a population register and census was administered by local clergy in
each diocese.
In the United States the Census seized were conducted and 1790 and every
ten years since.
In United States, the Constitution article 1, section 2,
item 3 requires that a census be taken every ten years for the purpose of determining
representation and apportionment of Congress.
Congress has also passed a number of laws requiring
that census information on a variety of characteristics be used in calculating
how federal dollars or to be distributed to the states, cities, urban and rural
areas. Questions asked in the census generally cover information on selected
personal characteristics, relationships between household members, and household
characteristics. Usually one person is asked to complete the census form either
a short form or a long form and fill in the information about persons that live
in that household. Which household receives a short form or a long form is
determined by sampling procedures.
England administer its first census in 1801.
It is mistakenly believed that we have an accurate count of
the world population. Despite the sporadic administration of censuses in various
parts of the world, a systematic effort to count the population of various
nations was not addressed until after World War II. The United Nations
encouraged countries to enumerate their populations using censuses. To assist in
this effort, the U.N. provided financial assistance to conduct these censuses,
set the standards for what constituted an appropriate census form, and offered
technical aid.
Between 1953 in 1964, 78 percent of the world population including mainland China
was enumerated. As of 1995 it is estimated that some 90 percent of the world
population has been enumerated.
b. population registers
A population register provides for continuous collection of
information on inhabitants of the geographic unit. Demographic events such as
births, deaths, and changes in the residence (migration) or marital status are recorded
as they occur.
In Taiwan, the local police are responsible for recording such events. In some
countries the police in cooperation with Census Bureau personnel are responsible
for recording these events. Some demographers believe that this system, since it
covers migration, produces the most detailed records on population of the four
modern methods of data collection.
It is not widely used area is limited mainly to smaller European countries and
some of Asian countries. It is difficult to establish and administer effectively
as well as being a very expensive system. In some countries there is political
opposition to the use of the population register.
c. vital registration
A vital registration is an ongoing collection in recording
of information about vital events. As a birth, and death, marriage, or divorce
occurs, a certificate is filed with the county clerk. A variety of personal, legal,
and medical facts pertaining to the event are recorded. The state and federal
governments cooperate in compiling and checking the accuracy of these statistics
and publishing the annual reports.
Characteristics of vital registration (1) is compulsory (2) is on-going
(3) records personal chrateristic of person experiencing an event (4) events
counted occurring to residents of area and to non-residents at time event occurred.
Events typically recorded: births, deaths, marriages, divorces, citizenship.
Others may be cars, boats, planes, guns, dog, etc.
Civil registration systems are reported for the Incas in
Peru who used intertwined knotted strains to record vital and related
statistics.
National civil registration systems were also reported in
Norway and 1685, Sweden and 1756, France and 1792, Belgian and 1796, and England
and 1837.
In United States to federal death registration system was
introduced in 1900, and the birth registration system in 1915. Initially only
10 states and the District of Columbia participated in these systems. The death
registration system became nationwide with the inclusion of Texas in 1933.
Marriage and divorce registration areas were set up in 1957 in 1958.
Events of occurence are allocated back to individuals usual place of residence.
d. surveys
Some subset or sample of the population, either individuals
or households, is selected as representative of the larger population.
Respondents asked questions about their attitudes and behaviors linked to
demographic events. Special surveys have been taken on women’s fertility histories,
on individuals job careers, on health-care practices, on preventative health-care
practices, and migration histories, to know but a few topics. Surveys are also
conducted by other government agencies. For instance, the bureau of labor
statistics regularly conducts surveys on patterns of unemployment, employment,
job histories, and patterns of behavior that people engage in looking for new
forms of employment. Educational surveys have been conducted both using
cross-sectional and longitudinal sampling techniques to assess differential
rates of progress through the school system. These data allows to assess rates
of completion at various levels of education such as elementary school,
middle school, and secondary school. Educational data have been linked to
occupational data to study patterns of entry into marriage, jobs, and the military.
Health surveys have looked at people’s knowledge of and attitudes about family size,
fertility decisions, attitudes in use of contraceptives, and knowledge about AIDS.
In the U.S. the Current Population Survey is conducted every month by the U.S.
Bureau of the Census. Since 1943thousands of households have been asked each month
about a variety of subjects. Each year detailed questions are asked about
fertility and migration and against such characteristics as education, income,
marital status, and living arrangements. In 1983 the Census
Bureau started in the Survey of Income and Program Participation which is a
companion to the Current Population Survey. It uses a rotating panel of about
20,000 households, SIPP gathers detailed information on sources of income and wealth,
disability, and the extent to which household members participate in government
assistance programs. The American Housing Survey is taken on a regular basis and asks about
mobility and met migration patterns in the United States.The National Center
for Health Statistics in the United States generates
information about reproductive health and in the National Survey of Family
Growth which is conducted every five years. The US Bureau of the Census
cooperates with the Justice Department to produce survey materials on prisoners
and prisons.
KAP surveys. Will discuss this type of survey in detail when we cover fertility.
Weeks. Sample surveys. Pp. 64-65.
General sources used for preparation of notes: Thomlinson 1965; Weeks 19xx;
Shryock and Siegel 19xx.
Historical demography
Analysis of aggregate lists
Nominal linkage
Family reconstitution
Case of Manti, Utah using LDS records and historical documents
There a number of possible sources on Mormon genealogical records. For
an introduction, see
Mormon Genealogical Records