Maya Town Research Articles

The Winds of Tomorrow: Social Change in a Maya Town.Richard A. Thompson

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsThe Winds of Tomorrow: Social Change in a Maya Town. Richard A. Thompson Kathleen Fordham NorrKathleen Fordham Norr Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Sociology Volume 81, Number 4Jan., 1976 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/226177 Views: 1Total views on this site Copyright 1976 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The Winds of Tomorrow: Social Change in a Maya Town

The Winds of Tomorrow: Social Change in a Maya Town

Change in a Community: The Winds of Tomorrow . Social Change in a Maya Town. Richard A. Thompson. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1974. x, 182 pp. $12.50.

Change in a Community: <i>The Winds of Tomorrow</i> . Social Change in a Maya Town. Richard A. Thompson. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1974. x, 182 pp. $12.50.

The Winds of Tomorrow: Social Change in a Maya Town

The Winds of Tomorrow: Social Change in a Maya Town

Demographic Profile of a Maya Community: The Atitecos of Santiago Atitlán

This is the first known report on the demographic details of a Maya group. The predominantly Maya town of Santiago Atitlan is in the Guatemalan highlands in the Department of Solola. The town contains 2 distinct cultural groups the Ladinos and Indians. Ladinos is a term applied to persons whose style of life is not predominantly Indian. They are 3.8% of the towns population. Racial composition is unimportant. The age and sex distribution is characterized by high birth and death rates. The total fertility rate indicates that the average Atitlan family has 8 live births during its reproductive period. There is little deliberate population control. From 1960 to 1968 the crude death rate averaged 23 per 1000 population. Previously it had been much higher. In the 1960 decade the life expectancy at birth was 43.3 for males and 41 for females. Female mortality in childbirth is believed to be the cause of their higher mortality in early life. A higher mortality in later life is not explained. The infant and preschool age group contribute 50 to 70% of all deaths each year. The effect of migration is negligible. The population increase is 3% per year. As most are subsistence farmers and a land shortage exists problems are expected to develop. A colonial record written in 1585 estimated that a larger population of about 12000 had occupied the are before 1524. By 1650 the population was about 1000 people. An 1689 estimate was 2235 persons. In 1770 the population was recorded as about 900. Currently they are regaining their PreColumbian level with 10462 people in 1964. Present records of births deaths and population numbers are considered to be accurate.

The Structure and Change of Mortality in a Maya Community

This is the first known report on the demographic details of a Maya group. The predominantly Maya town of Santiago Atitlan is in the Guatemalan highlands in the Department of Solola. The town contains 2 distinct cultural groups, the Ladinos and Indians. Ladinos is a term applied to persons whose style of life is not predominantly Indian. They are 3.8% of the town's population. Racial composition is unimportant. The age and sex distribution is characterized by high birth and death rates. The total fertility rate indicates that the average Atitlan family has 8 live births during its reproductive period. There is little deliberate population control. From 1960 to 1968 the crude death rate averaged 23 per 1000 population. Previously it had been much higher. In the 1960 decade the life expectancy at birth was 43.3 for males and 41 for females. Female mortality in childbirth is believed to be the cause of their higher mortality in early life. A higher mortality in later life, is not explained. The infant and preschool age group contribute 50 to 70% of all deaths each year. The effect of migration is negligible. The population increase is 3% per year. As most are subsistence farmers and a land shortage exists, problems are expected to develop. A colonial record written in 1585 estimated that a larger population of about 12,000 had occupied the are before 1524. By 1650 the population was about 1000 people. An 1689 estimate was 2235 persons. In 1770 the population was recorded as about 900. Currently they are regaining their PreColumbian level with 10,462 people in 1964. Present records of births, deaths, and population numbers are considered to be accurate.