This project will fund a working conference of scholars on American Indian population history to be held in 1992, the 500th anniversary of the introduction of European culture to this hemisphere. The conference will assess the state of knowledge on disruption, and the subsequent impacts of European development upon Indian communities. The conference will bring together 15 experts from the disciplines of anthropology, demography, history epidemiology and sociology to assess our current state of knowledge and plan future research. This conference is timely because the 500th anniversary of the conquest of the hemisphere by Europeans is an appropriate time to assess our knowledge and plan future research. Understanding demographic history is important to help us understand how populations react to stresses, so that we can deal with problems raised by current changes.
