The D0‐14/D ratio: A new paleodemographic index and equation for estimating total fertility rates

Objectives The objectives of this study were to develop a new subadult–adult ratio for application to sites with good infant representation and to produce an equation to estimate the total fertility rate for a population based on the age‐at‐death ratio. A new approach is required as current methods...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of physical anthropology 2018-03, Vol.165 (3), p.471-479
Main Authors: McFadden, Clare, Oxenham, Marc F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
15P5 index
Age
age‐at‐death
Babies
d5‐14/d20+ index
Death & dying
Fertility
fertility rate
Infants
Mortality
Paleodemography
Power
Preservation
Total fertility rate
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Summary:Objectives The objectives of this study were to develop a new subadult–adult ratio for application to sites with good infant representation and to produce an equation to estimate the total fertility rate for a population based on the age‐at‐death ratio. A new approach is required as current methods exclude the 0–4 years age category due to presumed underenumeration of infants. While this is true for some skeletal samples, others experience good infant representation. Materials and Methods Using age‐at‐death data and total fertility rates for 52 countries from the United Nations database for the year 1960, we examined the correlation between three age‐at‐death ratios and the fertility rate. We also utilized linear regression to determine an equation for calculating total fertility rate from the ratio. Results We achieved a correlation of 0.848 between our D0‐14/D Ratio and actual fertility rates. This correlation was significantly higher (p 
ISSN:0002-9483
1096-8644
2692-7691
DOI:10.1002/ajpa.23365