Their Number Become Thinned: Native American Population Dynamics in Eastern North America

by Henry F. Dobyns

Dobyns, Henry F.

Genres: History

378 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1983

Reviews

[William Mego · Rating 5 out of 5]

To a potential fellow reader, I should warn you that this isn't the type of history you'll find influenced by literary narration devices such as the excellent John Adams, by David McCullough, but instead a gritty, numbers-driven collection of essays packed with tables and charts and consideration of plant species and epidemiological data. This is, however, exactly why it's such a great book.

My warning complete, I will tell you that this is a great work, filled with fascinating information and data, and what surely must be the most complete study of aboriginal American culture on the Florida peninsula. I will admit I did read some of it lightly, as I was studying the book for purely epidemiological reasons, but I ended up reading the entire thing just because it was so interesting.
Highly Recommended - if you can read what I like to call "extreme history" - meaning it's filled with minute detail, data, and evidence...not "ripping good yarns". This is the story of life and death of a people, not a tale of individuals. I wouldn't want someone disappointed in what they picked up. But don't get the impression that there isn't a treasure trove of fascinating information here, because there is! The serious historian will fall in love.

[Douglas Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry F. Dobyns in 'Their Number Become Thinned' does what all anthropologists & archaeologists should be required to do. Dobyns begins his research with acknowledgement of the horrendous 'genocide' (UN definition = 'removing people from their means of livelihood + murder by state & settlers), which the 1st peoples of the Americas underwent upon the violent exporting of Europe's oligarch run systematic failure by oligarchs, in the order of many 10s of millions of economic & ecological refugees to the Americas. I came to study the ancient 'indigenous' (Lat 'self-generating') String-shell time-based equivalency accounting & Production-Society-Guild systems of Turtle-island & every other continent as part of implementation of the associated multistakeholder Participatory investment & ownership systems in companies, which I helped structure based on the 1st Nation & indigenous heritage model. https://sites.google.com/site/indigen...
Invasions entailed destroyed the graphic pictorial character-writing & String-shell economic records along with forced removal of children from their families & their indoctrination in the system of colonial worldview protecting lies. I came to study the ancient character writing systems of Turtle-Island / North-America through my study & engagement with American & Quebec Sign Language along with comparative studies of Aztec, Petroglyph & other surviving records. With such destruction of 1st Nation records & total subjugation of the few survivors, there’s no colonial anthropology (anthro) nor archaeology (archae) record, which can be ascertained as acknowledging & understanding this mass-genocide erasing of history context. All anthro & archaeo reports, to be credible, should acknowledge & structure all reports in acknowledgement of this reality. None do in making their grand pronouncements.
Through ethnohistory research among Timucean peoples of his Carolina's home, then down into Florida, Dobyns identifies the massive abundance of 1st Nation Polyculture-Orchards as the key to economic & cultural abundance & peace. Polyculture's huge productivity through tree canopies & extensive tree-roots. benefits, all plant & animal species. As food is the base human economy, all other economies as well as the resulting capacity of cultured biosphere to support human populations, hence the proper enumeration of ancient populations is then properly calculated. https://sites.google.com/site/indigen...