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Infanticide and fertility among Eskimos

A computer simulation

Bibliographic Data

ID8317843
AuthorsMichael Chapman (0000-0002-1299-8336), Michael S Chapman (0000-0001-8525-8585, National Institute of Mental Health, corresponding author)
Year1980
Volume53
Issue2
Pages317-327
Publication date1980-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.1330530217
PMID7191209
OpenAlexW2006346525
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited19

Until recently, certain Eskimo groups were reported to practice female infanticide in the belief that the time spent suckling a girl would delay the mother's next opportunity to bear a son, males being preferred to females because of their future role as providers in a hunting economy. From sex ratios in census data, rates of female infanticide of up to 66% for some groups have been inferred, leading some ethnographers to conclude that these groups were headed for extinction. Eskimo beliefs regarding the effects of infanticide on fertility, however, are in accord with the results of research on the relation of fertility and lactation: The cessation of lactation following infanticide would significantly shortern the expected interval until the next birth. Given this fact and available field data regarding the parameters of Eskimo population growth, the present computer simulation indicates that Eskimo populations could sustain a rate of 30% female infanticide and still survive. Higher reported rates are explained as the combined result of female infanticide plus the tendency of ethnographers to overestimate to overestimate the ages of juvenile females relative to juvenile males

Fertility · Genealogy · Geography · Population · Sociology · Demography · History · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

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    A Pérez, P Vela et al.•Population Studies•1971

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Unique citing works7
Citations per year0,17
Citation span1985 - 2023 (39)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 7
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