Correlates of contact: Epidemic disease in archaeological context

Over the past several decades, historians, geographers, demographers, anthr opologists and others interested in the demographic effects of contact betw een Europeans and Native Americans have emphasized epidemic diseases as a m ajor factor in declining native populations. Little progress, however, has been made toward developing a method and theory for testing hypotheses rega rding epidemic diseases and depopulation in the archaeological record. Tath am Mound, an early contact period mortuary locality in Florida serves as us eful example of the difficulties encountered when testing propositions rega rding epidemic disease in archaeological context.