Paleodemographic Analysis of a Late Woodland Site in Southeastern Michigan

A skeletal series of 343 individuals from the Late Woodland site of Riviere au Vase in southeastern Michigan is analyzed with reference to its paleodemographic parameters. The analysis proceeds in the context of the incomplete data problems that typically plague paleodemography. The sample represents an unknown portion of the entire cemetery at Riviere au Vase. A highly developed tradition of burial ceremonialism interposed a cultural filter between actual deaths in the population and those individuals represented in the cemetery. Although comparison with established demographic reg ularities for anthropological populations reveals that the adult segment of the series is a likely representation of the prehistoric population, the subadult segment is decidedly underrepresented. Nonetheless, adjustments for the missing data can be made and valuable archaeological information recovered.