Ethnography as an Interpreter of National Censuses: The Guatemalan Case

The purpose of this report is an exploratory methodological study on the use of ethnographic and national census materials in an investigation of the demographic transition in Guatemala. It shows that ethnographic analysis can interpret or revise census categories in a manner that either makes possible or greatly increases their analytical contributions, including those of interest to anthropology. This methodology allows an examination of Guatemalan data which shows the importance of education for fertility decline independent of urbanization.