Synopses & Reviews
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 World is 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
Review
and#147;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.and#8221;--Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Synopsis
A baseline study of the growth of preindustrial cities worldwide. Synopsis
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 and#8220;Why did people agglomerate into cities?and#8221; and and#8220;What population size and what age of endurance constitute a city?and#8221;
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 World is a unique study revealing the variety of factors involved in the coalescing and dispersal of populations in preindustrial times.
and#160;
About the Author
Ian Morris has taught courses on literature, writing, and publishing at Lake Forest College in Illinois and Columbia College Chicago. He was managing editor of TriQuarterly magazine for over a decade and is the founding editor of Fifth Star Press and the author of the novel When Bad Things Happen to Rich People.
Table of Contents
Glenn R. Storey Introduction: Urban Demography of the Past
THE WESTERN URBAN TRADITION Ian Morris The Growth of Greek Cities in the First Millennium BC Elio Lo Cascio Did the Population of Imperial Rome Reproduce Itself? Richard R. Paine and Glenn R. Storey Epidemics, Age at Death, and Mortality in Ancient Rome Brent D. Shaw Seasonal Mortality in Imperial Rome and the Mediterranean: Three Problem Cases Hans Christian Petersen, Jesper L. Boldsen, and Richard R. Paine Population Relationships in and around Medieval Danish Towns Nan A. Rothschild Colonial and Postcolonial New York: Issues of Size, Scale, and Structure
URBAN SOCIETY ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT Roger S. Bagnall An Urban Population from Roman Upper Egypt Chapurukha Kusimba, Sibel Barut Kusimba, and Babatunde Agbaje-Williams Precolonial African Cities: Size and Density
FAR EASTERN URBANIZATION Li Liu Urbanization in China: Erlitou and Its Hinterland Sarah M. Nelson Population Growth and Change in the Ancient City of Kyongju Laura Lee Junker Population Dynamics and Urbanism in Premodern Island Southeast Asia
URBAN CENTERS OF THE NEW WORLD John Wayne Janusek and Deborah E. Blom Identifying Tiwanaku Urban Populations: Style, Identity, and Ceremony in Andean Cities Don S. Rice Late Classic Maya Population: Characteristics and Implications Rebecca Storey Mortality through Time in an Impoverished Residence of the Precolumbian City of Teotihuacan: A Paleodemographic View L. J. Gorenflo The Evolution of Regional Demography and Settlement in the Prehispanic Basin of Mexico
CROSS-CULTURAL SYNTHESIS David B. Small Factoring the Countryside into Urban Populations Deborah L. Nichols Shining Stars and Black Holes: Population and Preindustrial Cities