Correlates of Contact: Epidemic Disease in Archaeological Context

Over the past several decades, historians, geographers, demographers, anthropologists and others interested in the demographic effects of contact between Europeans and Native Americans have emphasized epidemic diseases as a major factor in declining native populations. Little progress, however, has been made toward developing a method and theory for testing hypotheses regarding epidemic diseases and depopulation in the archaeological record. Tatham Mound, an early contact period mortuary locality in Florida serves as a useful example of the difficulties encountered when testing propositions regarding epidemic disease in archaeological context.