Urbanism in the Preindustrial World

by Storey, Glenn R.

• ISBN13: 9780817352462
• ISBN10: 0817352465
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-30
• Publisher: Univ of Alabama Pr

Summary

A baseline study of the growth of preindustrial cities worldwide. This work employs a subset of preindustrial cities on many continents to answer questions archaeologists grapple with concerning the populating and growth of cities before industrialization. It further explores how scholars differently conceive and execute their research on the population of cities. The subject cities are in Greece, Mesoamerica, the Andes, Italy, Egypt, Africa, United States, Denmark, and China. This broad sample provides a useful framework for answers to such questions as "Why did people agglomerate into cities?" and "What population size and what age of endurance constitute a city?" The study covers more than population magnitude and population makeup, the two major frameworks of urban demography. The contributors combine their archaeological and historical expertise to reveal commonalities, as well as theoretical extrapolations and methodological approaches, at work here and outside the sample. Urbanism in the Preindustrial Worldis a unique study revealing the variety of factors involved in the coalescing and dispersal of populations in preindustrial times. "An excellent collection of complementary perspectives on population and the character of cities in different parts of the world and at different periods. The refreshing aspect of this volume is that the authors represent a wide range of theoretical as well as methodological approaches."--Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, University of Wisconsin-Madison Glenn R. Storey, University of Iowa, is a Roman archaeologist jointly appointed in Classics and Anthropology and specializing in Roman demography, economy, and urbanization. Contributors: Babatunde Agbaje-Williams, Roger S. Bagnall, Deborah E. Blom, Jesper L. Boldsen, Elio Lo Cascio, L. L. Gorenflo, John Wayne Janusek, Laura Lee Junker, Chapurukha Kusimba, Sibel Barut Kusimba, Li Liu, Ian Morris, Sarah M. Nelson, Deborah L. Nichols, Hans Christian Petersen, Richard R. Paine, Don S. Rice, Nan A. Rothschild, Brent D. Shaw, David B. Small, Glenn R. Storey, Rebecca Storey

Author Biography

Glenn R. Storey, University of Iowa, is a Roman archaeologist jointly appointed in Classics and Anthropology and specializing in Roman demography, economy, and urbanization.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
List of Tables	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction: Urban Demography of the Past
Glenn R. Storey	1	(26)
THE WESTERN URBAN TRADITION
1. The Growth of Greek Cities in the First Millennium BC
Ian Morris	27	(25)
2. Did the Population of Imperial Rome Reproduce Itself?
Elio Lo Cascio	52	(17)
3. Epidemics, Age at Death, and Mortality in Ancient Rome
Richard R. Paine and Glenn R. Storey	69	(17)
4. Seasonal Mortality in Imperial Rome and the Mediterranean: Three Problem Cases
Brent D. Shaw	86	(24)
5. Population Relationships in and around Medieval Danish Towns
Hans Christian Petersen, Jesper L. Boldsen, and Richard R. Paine	110	(11)
6. Colonial and Postcolonial New York: Issues of Size, Scale, and Structure
Nan A. Rothschild	121	(18)
URBAN SOCIETY ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT
7. An Urban Population from Roman Upper Egypt
Roger S. Bagnall	139	(6)
8. Precolonial African Cities: Size and Density
Chapurukha Kusimba, Sibel Barut Kusimba, and Babatunde Agbaje-Williams	145	(16)
FAR EASTERN URBANIZATION
9. Urbanization in China: Erlitou and Its Hinterland
Li Liu	161	(29)
10. Population Growth and Change in the Ancient City of Kyongju
Sarah M Nelson	190	(13)
11. Population Dynamics and Urbanism in Premodern Island Southeast Asia
Laura Lee Junker	203	(30)
URBAN CENTERS OF THE NEW WORLD
12. Identifying Tiwanaku Urban Populations: Style, Identity, and Ceremony in Andean Cities
John Wayne Janusek and Deborah E. Blom	233	(19)
13. Late Classic Maya Population: Characteristics and Implications
Don S. Rice	252	(25)
14. Mortality through Time in an Impoverished Residence of the Precolumbian City of Teotihuacan: A Paleodemographic View
Rebecca Storey	277	(18)
15. The Evolution of Regional Demography and Settlement in the Prehispanic Basin of Mexico
L.J. Gorenflo	295	(22)
CROSS-CULTURAL SYNTHESIS
16. Factoring the Countryside into Urban Populations
David B. Small	317	(13)
17. Shining Stars and Black Holes: Population and Preindustrial Cities
Deborah L. Nichols	330	(11)
References	341	(68)
Contributors	409	(6)
Index	415