Lab 4 Historical Changes In Human Population Characteristics

Lab 4: Historical Changes in Human Population Characteristics (Due Monday, September 11^th by 11:59 PM)

It is possible to study changes in many human population characteristics by gathering information from cemetery records and obituaries, since cemetery records provide information about the past while obituaries provide information about current times.

Introduction

The survival rate of humans in North America has increased significantly in the past 100-200 years. In 1850, life expectancy at birth in the United States was less than 40 years. Today, in the United States, life expectancy at birth is approximately 78 years. This same pattern of increased life expectancy has occurred in other developed countries of the world. Even less-developed countries have shown significant increases. Improved nutrition, vaccines, antibiotics, preventative medicine, lifestyle changes, control of workplace hazards, and new technologies are a few of the reasons for improved life expectancy. Of particular note is the decline in infant and youth mortality in North America during the past 100 years.

Increasing life expectancies have an impact on population growth rates. The growth of the human population is primarily determined by the birth rate and death rate. As people live longer, they contribute to the population for a longer period. So even with falling birth rates the population can continue to grow.

As the population ages, there are several important demographic and economic considerations. For example, there will be a smaller proportion of the population in the workforce, there will be an increased cost of government social programs for retired persons, and older people will need specialized health care.

One of the ways to visualize how a change in the death rate affects the population is to construct a graph of the number of people who survive to each age. This is known as a survival curve. In this exercise we will construct four survival curves that will allow us to look at differences between men and women, and between current individuals and those that lived over a century ago.

You will collect four sets of data that show age at death of individuals who lived in your local region. The first two sets of data will be for men and women who died before 1900. The second two sets of data will be for men and women who died within the past five years. Once these data have been collected, the number of individuals surviving to each age can be calculated and a survival curve can be constructed.

Procedure

The goal is to collect information on the age at death for 25 males and 25 females who died before 1900 and for 25 males and 25 females who died within the last five years. You will need to rely on names and other information provided to determine whether a person is, or identified, as a male or female.

Visit local cemeteries or obtain cemetery information online for individuals who died prior to 1900. Obtain obituary information from local newspapers or online sources for individuals who have died within the past five years.

• Record your information on the table below. (2 points)

Many cemeteries have collected all the information from tombstones and provided the information in their office, at local libraries, and online. To find online resources for local cemeteries simply type in the name of your city and county and phrase “cemetery records.” Obituary information is available through local newspapers, which also have the information online. You can also search the website https://www.findagrave.com.

Enter the data on the number of individuals who died at each age on the following table. You will also need to calculate the number of individuals surviving to each age by the method shown below and record this information into your table.

Example:

• Fill out this table: (10 points)

• Use different colored pencils to plot the four sets of survival data (males before 1900, females before 1900, males current, and females current) on a graph. Alternatively, you can enter the data from the previous table into a database like Excel and use the scatter graph (X-Y graph) option to create the graph. (10 points)

Analysis

• Examine your graph. (2 points)
• List two differences in the patterns of survival of men and women who died before 1900.
• Men had a higher survival rates before 35 years.
• In contrast women had higher survival rates after 35
• What factors (biological, social, economic) do you think contributed to these differences? Be specific.

First, women might have had better social connections that improved their well-being at advanced ages. Second, men might have engaged in risky occupations such as mining and hunting as they aged. Men have engaged in risky behaviors that women at advanced ages. Girls might have had low survival rates due to greater emphasis on boys.

• Examine your graph. (2 points)
• List two differences in the patterns of survival of men and women who died within the last 5 years.
• Males seem to have a good survival rate until old age.
• Females seem to have a better survival rate than men at 70 years.
• What factors (biological, social, economic) do you think contributed to these differences? Be specific.

Increased awareness of the importance of health and increased social connections might influence good survival in men. The survival rate is high in both genders. Diminishing gender roles might have contributed to less risky behaviors in men. However, at old age, women are more likely to be taken better care of hence better survival.

• Examine your graph. (2 points)
• List two differences in the patterns of survival of men who died prior to 1900 with those who died within the last 5 years.
• The survival rate of men pre-1900 is significantly lower than currently.
• The decreased survival rate trend is sharp in pre-1900 than in the current.
• What factors (biological, social, economic) do you think contributed to these differences? Be specific.

The major factor contributing to greater survival is better healthcare survival addressing ailments like prostate cancer. Vaccination at birth increases infant survivability, while technology improves survival even with terminal conditions. Changes in lifestyle explain why the current men survive more. They are less likely to engage in risky behavior.

• Examine your graph. (2 points)
• List two differences in the patterns of survival of women who died prior to 1900 with those who died within the last 5 years.
• The survival rate of women pre-1900 is significantly lower than currently.
• Women below 5 years had more sharply decreasing survival rates.
• What factors (biological, social, economic) do you think contributed to these differences? Be specific.

The major factor contributing to greater survival is better healthcare survival addressing ailments like prostate cancer. Vaccination at birth increases infant survivability, while technology improves survival even with terminal conditions. Better survival as infants is a result of social changes emphasizing the well-being of women as much as that of men.