A Method for Approximating Age-specific Fertility in the Construction of Life Tables for Anthropological Populations

Document Type

Article

Authors

Kenneth M. Weiss, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Abstract

A method for calculating age-specific fertility rates from a life table and estimated growth rate is developed for use with data from anthropological sources. The method, which derives from stable population theory, assumes that age-specific fertility has a reasonably invariant shape for similar cultures. Evidence to support this assumption is given, and the difference between non-industrial and modern industrial fertility patterns is shown. The method derived here allows the simulation of any growth pattern for a given population and hence the testing of the effects on fertility of changing mortality or growth rates. It can easily be applied to questions arising naturally in the study of populations undergoing demographic and cultural transition and in the simulation of demographic processes among these populations for genetic or other purposes.

Recommended Citation

Weiss, Kenneth M. (1973) "A Method for Approximating Age-specific Fertility in the Construction of Life Tables for Anthropological Populations," Human Biology: Vol. 45: Iss. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol45/iss2/7