The Population Dynamics of the Mucajai Yanomama

The Population Dynamics of the Mucajai Yanomama is an analysis of the Mucajai Yanomama, an Indian foraging/horticultural group located in northern Brazil. The text is an investigation of the population dynamics of the Yanomama Indians, using methods of quantitative demography and qualitative ethnography. The timeline of text focuses from 1958 to 1987, from their first ever contact with representative of the ""outer world"".
The book is divided into four major parts and comprised of a total of 10 chapters. Part One introduces the tribe of the Mucajai Yanomama and discusses their population dynamics, as well as provides an overview of postcontact period of 28 years. Part Two focuses on the demographic issues of the tribe. This part looks into variables, such as fertility, mortality, and migration, to understand factors such as cultural antecedents and age-sex structure. Part Three serves as a synthesis of the demographic variables and their relation to each other. The other issue synthesized in this part of the book is the impact of population structure to the cultural practices of the tribe. Lastly, Part Four provides the conclusion of the study and compares the results to other studies of Yanomama groups.
The text is a helpful resource mostly to anthropologists and evolutionary demographers, but can also be a reference to anyone who studies population dynamics.

Inhalt

Illustrations
Tables
Preface
Part One Introduction

1. The Mucajai Yanomama
   I. The Research Area
   II. The First Permanent Contact
   III. Purpose of the Research
   IV. Sources of the Mucajai Database
   V. Some Editorial Considerations
2. The Population Dynamics of the Precontact Period
   I. History of the Yanomama
   II. The Mucajai Yanomama
   III. Population Dynamics of the Precontact Period
   IV. The Population Problem at the Time of Contact
3. Overview of the Postcontact Period, 1958-1987
   I. Rate of Growth and Its Components
   II. Levels of Analysis and Demographic Indices
   III. Terminology
   IV. Cultural Factors Responsible for the Demographic Variables and Age-Sex Structure
   V. Phases of the Postcontact Period
   VI. The Missionaries
   Part Two Cultural and Demographic Structures of the Population Variables
4. The Reproductive Period
   I. Mating Pattern
   II. Female Reproductive Period
   III. Types of Birth Intervals and Their Duration
   IV. Reproductive Pattern: Age and Overall Levels of Fertility
   V. Summary
5. Determination of Age
   I. The Anthropological Problem of Age
   II. Estimation of Birth Dates from Fertility Histories
   III. Evaluation of the Averages as Estimators
   IV. Completeness of the Database Used for Fertility Histories
   V. Distinctiveness of the Mucajai Database
6. Migration
   I. History of Contacts with Other Yanomama Groups in the Postcontact Period
   II. Reasons for In-Migration
   III. Out-Migration
   IV. Net Migration
7. Mortality
   I. Infectious Disease
   II. Induced Abortion and Infanticide
   III. Infant Mortality
   IV. Other Causes of Death
   V. Yanomama Perception of Cause of Death
   VI. Life Expectancy and Group Mortality
   Part Three Synthesis
8. How the Population Increased
   I. Components of Total Increase
   II. Change of Age-Sex Structure of the Population
   III. In-Migration as a Key Factor of Change
   IV. Raiding and the Sex Ratio
   V. Cultural Impact of the Missionaries
   VI. Demographic Impact of the Missionaries
   VII. Demographic Change without the Missionaries
   VIII. Sexual Imbalance in the Precontact Population
   IX. Conclusion
9. The Effect of Changed Demographic Structures on Cultural Patterns
   I. Change of the Sex Ratio
   II. Change of Types of Sexual Unions
   III. Mother-in-Law Avoidance
   IV. Resources and Population Increase
   V. Conclusion
   Part Four Conclusion
10. Yanomama Population Dynamics
    I. Cultural Patterns
    II. Demographic Levels of the Patterns
    III. Fertility
    IV. Migration
    V. Mortality
    VI. Stationary or Increasing Population?
    VII. Some Implications for Population Research on Small-Scale Anthropological Societies
    VIII. The Evolution of Human Population Dynamics
    IX. Conclusion
    References
    Index