Historical Estimates of World Population: An Evaluation

A myopic view of history and underdevelopment of theory have been two shortcomings of demography, related to the pragmatism of the discipline and to demographers' predilection for precise measures. A healthy counterpoise is the current surge of interest in demographic history, where questions remote from current practical concerns invite study and exact data are scarce. Historical demography, hitherto an esoteric field of specialization, is now a robustly growing sub-discipline. Historians, archaeologists, and others are also joining in the exploration of neglected demographic fields of history. Demographer's horizons are being stretched, new frontiers of interdisciplinary contact are being opened, and the historical foundations of theory are being strengthened and extended.