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This study presents a population history of the Huron-Petun, Iroquoian-speaking agriculturalists who occupied south-central Ontario from A.D. 900 to A.D. 1650. Temporal change in the number, size, and residential density of prehistoric and contact village sites of the Huron-Petun are used to delineate population change. It is revealed that Huron-Petun population grew dramatically during the fourteenth century, attaining a maximum size of approximately 30,000 in the middle of the fifteenth century. This growth appears to have been intrinsic (1.2% per annum) and is best explained by colonization of new lands and increased production and consumption of corn. Population stabilized during the fifteenth century primarily because of an increased burden of density-dependent diseases (tuberculosis) arising from life in large nucleated villages. Huron-Petun population remained at 30,000 until A.D. 1634; there is no archaeological evidence for protohistoric epidemics of European origin. The historic depopulation of the Huron-Petun country, resulting from catastrophic first encounters with European diseases between 1634 and 1640, is substantiated by archaeological data.

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No description available.

An analysis of the discourse in the Jesuit Relations indicates that the Jesuits' representation of Huron and Montagnais Indians is informed by a colonial ideology. The Jesuits' attempt to identify Indians according to permanent customs and manners is compared to conventional ethnographic description and is shown to result in a reductive, essentializing discourse. In their elaboration of the category of 'savagery' Jesuits metaphorically equated Indians with wild animals. They then stressed the need for reclaiming the Indians' humanity through conversion to Christianity. The Jesuits' figuration of the spiritual realm as a territory to be subdued and conquered is discussed, and the language of conversion is revealed as a language of control and conquest. It is finally argued that Jesuit representations of Indians functioned as an instrument of colonial domination. The analysis points to the need for decolonization of textual and historical spaces dominated by Eurocolonial discourses.

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An assemblage of prehistoric Huron chipped stone tools has been analyzed in terms of its inherently dynamic properties. It is hypothesized that the series of measurements and ratios that has been developed is more efficient than existing systems for gauging the changing nature of these implements over time. The statistical evaluation of the data revealed strong linear relationships between various pairs of variables, such as projectile point length and tip angle and end scraper bit edge angles and bit height. It was found that comparing these data to other attributes of these tools, such as use-wear traces and reduction techniques, can be very informative about how each category of tools changed through manufacture, use, and maintenance. The results of this analysis were then compared to those of a more traditional study of a contemporaneous collection of Huron stone tools (Poulton, 1985), demonstrating the utility of the techniques developed.

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In the pre-contact era, Huron women were relatively powerful. They were active participants in the political, economic, and cultural activities of pre-contact Huronia. After contact with Europeans, however, epidemic disease swept through the Huron country. As a virgin soil population, the Hurons were devastated by contagious disease. Beginning in 1634, they witnessed epidemic outbreaks of diseases such as measles, scarlet fever, influenza, and smallpox. The epidemics had a harsh physical toll on all Hurons, particularly pregnant and breast-feeding women. The incidence of disease was high and the mortality rate was at least fifty percent. The epidemics also had cultural consequences. As a result of epidemic disease, the Hurons witnessed changes to their political processes, economic activities, cultural practices, and spiritual beliefs. Two of the most significant cultural consequences of contagious disease were warfare with the Five Nations and the loss of faith in traditional beliefs. Each of the cultural changes instigated by contagious disease affected the power and prestige of Huron women. The impact of contagious disease on Huron women was overwhelmingly negative.